Carlos Santos (boxer)

Carlos Santos (born October 1, 1955 in Ceiba, Puerto Rico) is a former boxer from Puerto Rico, who represented his native country as an amateur at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. There he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Santos was involved both in the first and the fourth world title bouts involving two Puerto Rican boxers in history. It has been suggested that Santos was not born in Ceiba but in the San Juan area named "Santurce", but it is widely believed that Santos is a Ceiba native.

Carlos Santos debuted as a professional boxer on November 11, 1976, outpointing José Collantes over four rounds in San Juan. He obtained his first knockout victory in his third fight, when he beat Juan Polanco in the third round on May 21, 1977.

Santos' first fight abroad came on November 4 of that year, when he beat Mario Valoy by a third-round knockout in Panama City, Panama. On April 8, 1978, he knocked Collantes out in the fifth round of their rematch.

After three more wins in Puerto Rico, Santos had a fight in the Dominican Republic, where he beat Mario Ramos by a knockout in the eighth round, on April 2, 1979. On his very next fight, Santos outpointed Felix Pagan Pintor, future trainer of Wilfredo Gómez, over ten rounds.

After beating Kid Flash by a third-round knockout on December 1 of that year in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, Santos moved temporarily to Italy, seeking for attention from boxing executives as well as more celebrity than he had in Puerto Rico. On April 4, 1980, Santos made his European debut by knocking out Charles Petersen in the second round at Milan. Santos won seven fights in Italy, all of them by knockout. One curious fight happened on December 20 of 1980 in Turin: Santos was credited with beating Alfonso Hayman, a fringe contender of the era, in the first round. Hayman was under a medical suspension in Italy at the time, however, having been knocked out only eight days before Santos' fight, so his opponent that night is listed on his record as an "unknown opponent".

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