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Gary Balletto (born May 21, 1975) is a world champion boxer. He has won 3 lightweight titles since 1996 IBU, EBA and USBF belts). Outside the ring, in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, Balletto is the New England representative for the Joint Association of Boxers (JAB), owns a boxing gym- Balletto’s Boxing Gym, a realty company- Balletto Realty, and a construction company- Balletto Construction. He has 3 children, Gary, Hailey, and Aiden.[1]
Gary Balletto | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gary Balletto May 21, 1975 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Tiger |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Lightweight |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 36 |
| Wins | 31 |
| Wins by KO | 26 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 0 |
Balletto turned pro just 10 days before his 21st birthday, amassing a 30–3–2 record in a 10-year career of boxing, 26 by way of knock out. One of his three losses came to Michael Clark (a unanimous decision in 10 rounds at Foxwoods), who would later appear on the ESPN reality show "Contender Season 2" as a team-mate of Balletto, where they both were on the Gold Team. Another loss came to Gregorio Vargas, a former WBC Featherweight champion and IBA Super-Featherweight champion, to whom Balletto lost his IBU title.
On the show, Balletto won his first-round fight, where Aaron Torres chose him as an opponent, by split decision. In his second fight, Norberto Bravo beat him, by unanimous decision.
In 2008, he appeared at IFC Theater in New York City to promote a feature verity documentary "Sweet Dreams", which told the story of his life and efforts to unionize the sport through JAB.[2]
Balletto continued his boxing career, winning by technical knockout on against light welterweight prospect Matthew Strode.
In June 2013, Balletto sustained a spinal cord injury in his backyard playing with his son, spinning around on a pull up bar that gave way. He broke 6 vertebrae in his neck, leaving him with a C5 spinal cord injury. He is now a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down. Determined to fight this battle as he has all of his bouts in the ring, he has not let the injury slow him down. In 2017, Balletto founded “The Gary Tiger Balletto Foundation” to bring awareness to and provide resources and assistance to those with paralysis injuries.
His current efforts include the creation of the first affordable adaptive gym in the state of Rhode Island, in conjunction with the Cranston YMCA. He has already raised funds and donated two Functional Electric Stimulation bikes which are booked and used around the clock, by Balletto himself and others with paralysis injuries to maintain muscle health and prevent atrophy.
There is additional equipment being added to complete a full, comprehensive adaptive gym. The gym was set to open to members of the local community with like injuries and other conditions such as stroke, MS, etc. to come and work out alongside their family members by spring 2019.
Balletto resides in Cranston, Rhode Island, with his girlfriend and children.
Professional boxing record edit
| 36 fights | 31 wins | 3 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 26 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 3 |
| Draws | 2 | |
| No contests | 0 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | Win | 31–3–2 |  Matthew Strode
|
TKO | 9 (10), 0:59 | 2006-12-01 | Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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| 35 | Loss | 30–3–2 | Norberto Bravo
|
UD | 5 | 2006-02-06 | Contender Gymnasium, Pasadena, California, USA
|
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| 34 | Win | 30–2–2 | Aaron Torres
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SD | 5 | 2006-01-21 | Contender Gymnasium, Pasadena, California, USA
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| 33 | Loss | 29–2–2 |  Gregorio Vargas
|
MD | 12 | 2003-10-31 | Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
|
Lost IBU Lightweight title. |
| 32 | Win | 29–1–2 | Luis Alfonso Lizarraga
|
UD | 10 | 2003-07-25 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
|
Retained IBU Lightweight title. |
| 31 | Win | 28–1–2 | Frank Houghtaling
|
KO | 4 (10), 1:02 | 2003-05-30 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
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| 30 | Win | 27–1–2 | Johnny Walker
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KO | 1 (12), 2:49 | 2003-03-21 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
|
Won vacant IBU Lightweight title. |
| 29 | Win | 26–1–2 |  Juan Polo Perez
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KO | 1 (10) | 2003-01-11 | Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
|
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| 28 | Loss | 25–1–2 | Michael Clark
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UD | 10 | 2002-10-25 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
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| 27 | Win | 25–0–2 |  Alric Johnson
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KO | 4 (10) | 2002-07-26 | Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
|
Retained EBA Lightweight title. |
| 26 | Win | 24–0–2 | Mike DiBenedetto
|
TKO | 9 (10), 2:37 | 2002-03-01 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
|
|
| 25 | Win | 23–0–2 | John Trigg
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RTD | 4 (6), 3:00 | 2001-12-07 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
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| 24 | Win | 22–0–2 | Fray Luis Sierra
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TKO | 1 (10) | 2001-11-16 | Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
|
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| 23 | Win | 21–0–2 | Joseph Figueroa
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UD | 10 | 2001-06-02 | Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
|
Won EBA Lightweight title. |
| 22 | Win | 20–0–2 |  Freddy Cruz
|
UD | 6 | 2001-05-04 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
|
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| 21 | Win | 19–0–2 | John Scalzi
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TKO | 1 (8) | 2001-03-02 | Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
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| 20 | Win | 18–0–2 |  Hector Arroyo
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UD | 6 | 2001-02-09 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
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| 19 | Win | 17–0–2 | Larry O'Shields
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TKO | 4 (6), 1:20 | 2000-12-22 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
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| 18 | Win | 16–0–2 | Richard Dinkins
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TKO | 3 (4) | 2000-11-17 | Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
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| 17 | Draw | 15–0–2 |  Glenn Ford
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PTS | 6 | 2000-02-25 | Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
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| 16 | Win | 15–0–1 |  Teddy Worth
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TKO | 2 (?) | 1999-11-24 | Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
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| 15 | Win | 14–0–1 | Duron Wilson
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TKO | 4 (?), 2:52 | 1999-01-29 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
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| 14 | Win | 13–0–1 | Forbes David
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KO | 1 (?) | 1998-12-12 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
|
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| 13 | Win | 12–0–1 | Alonzo Sojourney
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TKO | 1 (?), 2:41 | 1998-10-24 | Roseland Ballroom, Taunton, Massachusetts, USA
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| 12 | Win | 11–0–1 | Manuel Santiago
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TKO | 6 (?) | 1998-08-02 | TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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| 11 | Win | 10–0–1 | Felix Marti
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TKO | 6 (?) | 1998-06-19 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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| 10 | Win | 9–0–1 |  Dominick Monaco
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TKO | 3 (?) | 1998-06-05 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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| 9 | Win | 8–0–1 | Hector Querio
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TKO | 1 (?), 1:40 | 1998-03-27 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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| 8 | Win | 7–0–1 | Gerry Ocampo
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KO | 2 (4) | 1998-02-20 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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| 7 | Win | 6–0–1 | Alex Ortiz
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TKO | 2 (4), 2:32 | 1997-12-05 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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| 6 | Win | 5–0–1 | Jose LaPorte
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TKO | 2 (?), 2:53 | 1997-10-23 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
|
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| 5 | Win | 4–0–1 | Rafael Pina
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TKO | 1 (?) | 1997-09-25 | Strand Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
|
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| 4 | Win | 3–0–1 | Barton Velez
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KO | 1 (?) | 1997-03-13 | Strand Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
|
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| 3 | Win | 2–0–1 | Miguel Vasquez
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TKO | 1 (?) | 1996-10-25 | The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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| 2 | Win | 1–0–1 | Lucas Pacheco
|
TKO | 1 (4) | 1996-09-27 | Eastside Improvement, Brockton, Massachusetts, USA
|
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| 1 | Draw | 0–0–1 | Hector Querio
|
TD | 1 (4) | 1996-05-11 | Dayville, Connecticut, USA
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Professional debut. Technical draw after a headbutt rendered Balletto unable to continue. |
References edit
- ^ "AXN East Asia – The Heart of Action + Adventure". Archived from the original on October 28, 2006. Retrieved September 16, 2006.
- ^ "Stranger then Fiction". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
External links edit
- Gary "Tiger" Balletto's Official Website
- Boxing record for Gary Balletto from BoxRec (registration required)
- Sweet Dreams Movie