Joan Guzmán will be inducted into the Dominican Republic Sports Hall of Fame

Santo Domingo.–.Joan Guzmán, a glory of national sport and a pioneer in conquering a Pan American gold medal in an individual sport, will be inducted into the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2025.

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The organization announced that Guzman will become the twenty-second boxer to receive this honor, during the ceremony that will take place on Sunday, November 16, in the auditorium of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. Guzmán wrote his name in history at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, where he won the gold medal in boxing, just the second gold that the Dominican Republic achieved in a continental event after the one achieved by the baseball team in Mexico 1955. Born on May 1, 1976, in the populous Guachupita neighborhood of Santo Domingo, Guzmán was a symbol of dedication and consistency. In the amateur field, he fought more than 300 bouts, of which he won 310 of the 320 in which he stepped into the ring, earning 21 gold medals in international events, including titles in the Central American Games of Ponce 1993 and the Pan American Games of Mar del Plata 1995. His brilliant career led him to be the flag bearer of the Dominican delegation at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, before starting his professional career in 1997. As a professional, he conquered the super bantamweight and super featherweight world titles of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), becoming the first Dominican boxer to be champion in two different divisions. In total, he recorded 34 victories, 21 of them by knockout, in 36 fights. “Joan Guzmán represents one of the greatest legacies of Dominican sports, an athlete who paved the way and brought glory to the country both on the Olympic and professional levels,” highlighted Dionisio Guzmán, president of the Permanent Committee of the Hall of Fame. The choice of Guzmán was made through the vote of national sports reporters, who each year choose two athletes for immortality. On this occasion, former Major League player Edwin Encarnación was also chosen. Alongside Guzman and Encarnacion, the Class of 2025 of the Hall of Fame already has confirmed Jose Offerman, Jose Reyes, the promoters Beato Miguel Cruz and Gonzalo Mejía, as well as the businessman Manuel Estrella, who will serve as honorary president of the ceremony. With this exaltation, boxing reaffirms its place of honor in Dominican sports history, adding a man who, from Guachupita to the world’s boxing rings, proudly defended the tricolor flag.