Featured UBO Champion: Arturo Leyva

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022 / BY UBO PRESS OFFICER

From a small town in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia, where soccer and boxing were the only popular sports, Leya excelled at both.

But after a few fights, he found out that soccer was a more stable income for him, and he decided to drop boxing, even though he liked it more than soccer.

Around the age of twenty-four he came to the realization that he was not quite a good enough soccer-player to make it to “the big-time”, and decided to retire from that sport to become a coach instead, and did very well in that role.

In 2018 he decided to give boxing another go, and had what is listed as his first pro fight by BoxRec (Leyva reportedly has several fights not recorded by BoxRec), in Girardot, defeating journeyman Gabriel Bracho from Venezuela.

Already in his third fight he showed his potential when he out-scored former WBC regional titlist Samuel Miller (33-18), and when they had a rematch seven months later he did even better, scoring a second round stoppage.

In December of 2019, Leyva captured his first professional title when he decisioned Evert Bravo (25-11-1) to win the Colombian national Light Heavyweight crown.

His career was about to go to the next level when Covid hit in early 2020, and he only managed to get one fight in that year, a second round demolition of trial-horse compatriot Miguel Angel Suarez (5-39) in October.

Almost a year later, after several delays, he got a long-planned shot at the vacant UBO World Light Heavyweight title, matched another fellow countryman in Deivis Casseres (26-12).

It was a tough and close fight, but after twelve rounds at the Coliseo Luis Patron Rosano in Tolu, Leyva was deservedly declared the winner by unanimous decision (115-113. 115-113 and 116-112).