KERMIT CINTRON PROFILE

At the age of eight, Kermit Cintron lost his mother to breast cancer.

“It was weird,” he said. “We were just talking around her when she was in bed. She was laughing. Then suddenly she just closed her eyes, and that was it. My sister was talking to her. When she closed her eyes, she didn’t respond at all. That’s when we found out that she was passed away.”

And things only got worse.

Daniel Cintron did the best he could after his wife’s death to support his sons Kermit, Harold and Jason, but failed.  The three sons were told that they’d have to leave their father and their native Puerto Rico to live with relatives until he could “get back on his feet” financially.  Cintron and his brothers were sent to Warminster, PA to live with uncle Benjamin Serrano, the former world middleweight contender.

Fast forward five years. 

After returning from a drive with his uncle, he was greeted by the tears of his aunt   Evelyn, who informed him that his 43-year-old father had succumbed to a heart attack.

Now both of his parents were gone.  His dream of returning home to Puerto Rico to be reunited with his father was shattered.  The cruelty was almost biblical in its  proportion.

Yet, despite the anger, sadness, and abandonment that swirled within Kermit, he didn’t become self-destructive.  In fact, he used sports channel his energies, joining his school’s wrestling, football, track, and baseball teams.

He was skilled in all four sports, but excelled in wrestling.  By the time he was a senior at William Tennant High School, he had earned full scholarship offers to Wisconsin University and Ohio State University.  He declined both and instead attended Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, PA, where he finished 10th at the NJCAA Wrestling Championships.

Still, despite his success on the wrestling mat, Cintron felt that something was missing.  Uncle Benjamin Serrano, who fought world-ranked contenders like Frank “The Animal” Fletcher and Doug DeWitt in the ’70s and ’80s, taught Cintron to box while Cintron was in high school.  He even brought him to the Warminster Police Station Gym to train.  But it wasn’t until the Cintron reached the age of 19 that boxing stepped to the forefront of his mind.

Shortly after finishing his college freshman year, Cintron entered the amateur ranks and compiled a record of 24-4, 17 KO’s.  In October 2000 he turned pro. 

On May 17, 2003, NBC’s “Budweiser Boxing Series” served as the showcase for Cintron’s thunderous punching power.  Midway through round one Cintron stung Luis Rosado with a right hook that sent the Bronx, NY native reeling into the ropes.  Moments later a devastating uppercut dropped Rosado to his knees.  Rosado climbed to his feet but was dropped again less than a minute later by a barrage of punches.  Shortly thereafter, the referee waved a halt to the bout.  The official time of the stoppage was 2:24 of round one.

Cintron caught the eye of boxing insiders on December 12, 2003, when he showed poise and superior boxing skills in a nine-round demolition of the tough, durable Hicklet Lau (TKO 9).  A devastating overhand right in round nine rocked Lau and left him out on his feet.  Four punches later Lau sagged to the canvas where the referee halted the bout without even beginning a count.  It was the first time Lau had ever been stopped in his 31 bouts as a pro.

On May 1, 2004, Cintron returned to NBC to headline the network’s “Budweiser Boxing Series” broadcast that served as the lead-in for the Kentucky Derby.  Cintron frighteningly annihilated Elio Ortiz at the 1:16 mark of round six with a barrage of punches that sent the Venezuelan veteran crashing head-first onto the bottom rope, unable to continue (TKO 6).   Ringside spectators were impressed by Cintron’s demolition, considering that Ortiz had been in against several of the sport’s more recognizable names, such as Ricardo Mayorga, Sharmba Mitchell, Teddy Reid, and Ray Oliveira, and Omar Weiss.

Cintron impressed boxing insiders on July 17, 2004, when he dismantled Teddy Reid (TKO 8).  Cintron floored Reid once in round three and then again in round eight.  The “Fight of the Year” nominee ended moments after the second knock down when Reid was unable to repel a flurry of blows that forced the referee to halt the bout at the :56 mark of round eight (TKO 8).  Cintron injured his hand in the bout and was forced to undergo surgery.

He returned to the ring on April 23, 2005, and was stopped by WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (TKO 5).

Cintron rebounded from the first loss of his career by winning three consecutive bouts, the last of which earned him the vacant IBF welterweight title.  In that championship bout on October 28, 2006, Cintron swarmed Mark Suarez to earn a sixth-round stoppage (TKO 6).

On July 14, 2007, Cintron gave his most impressive performance as a pro when he successfully defended his IBF Welterweight Championship by dismantling mandatory challenger Walter Matthysse in two rounds (TKO 2).  Cintron floored Matthysse three times with brutal combinations, the last of which left the Argentine sprawled on his back for over a minute.