Danny Santiago (born February 21, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2016. He challenged three times for a light heavyweight world title: the WBO title in January 2007, the IBO title in December 2007, and the WBA/IBA titles in 2011.
Amateur career Santiago had a strong amateur career, including the following highlights: 1995 New York City daily news Golden gloves champion 1995 empire state champion 1995 metro champion 1994 Florida golden glove champion 1994 Sunshine state champion 1995 Northeastern Regional Champion (178 Lbs.) 1996 Southeastern Regional Champion (178 Lbs.) 1996 Representative of Florida Bronze Medalists at 178Lbs, National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Denver, Colorado 1996 International competition U.S.A. vs. Sweden representative of U.S.A. Silver Medalists at 178Lbs
Professional career In 1997, Danny made his professional debut with a first-round knockout of Michael Watkins. Between 1997 and 2002, Danny built a record of 22-0 and earned a shot at the WBA Fedelatin Light Heavyweight Title, where he suffered his first loss against Rocky Torres. By 2004, Danny defeated the highly ranked Elvir Muriqi in Madison Square Gardens with a devastating first-round knockout.
As a light heavy-weight, Santiago competed in world title bouts against several notable champions, including WBO and WBC champion Zsolt Erdei, unified champion Antonio Tarver, WBA and IBA champion Beibut Shumenov, and WBA and IBO champion Danny Green.
In 2010, Santiago was scheduled to fight Roy Jones, Jr, but the fight was cancelled due to an injury to Jones.
Santiago was a contestant on ESPN's very popular television series The Contender in 2007. Santiago owned and operated a successful boxing gym which served as a popular training ground world champions, including Tavoris Cloud, Ricardo Mayorga, and Jermain Taylor.
After his retirement from the ring, Santiago has become a successful trainer and promoter.
In 2021, Santiago was inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes42WinGalen BrownTKO3 (6), Feb 13, 201641Loss33–7–1Victor Emilio RamírezTKO4 (10), Jan 31, 201440Win33–6–1Rubin WilliamsUD8Nov 22, 201339Win32–6–1Miguel HernandezUD8Aug 31, 201338Loss31–6–1Danny GreenTKO5 (10), Jul 25, 201237Loss31–5–1Beibut ShumenovTKO9 (12), Jul 29, 201136Win31–4–1Billy Bailey8May 21, 201035Win30–4–1Paul JennetteUD8May 16, 200934Loss29–4–1Antonio TarverTKO4 (12), Dec 1, 200733Loss29–3–1Zsolt ErdeiTKO8 (12), Jan 27, 200732Win29–2–1Marlon HayesUD8Dec 14, 200631Win28–2–1Mike BonislawskiTKO1 (8), Jun 29, 200630Draw27–2–1Rayco SaundersPTS6Feb 10, 200629Win27–2Rico CasonTKO8 (12)Aug 12, 200528Win26–2Ronald BoddieUD8Dec 16, 200427Win25–2James BrockKO1 (8), Dec 4, 200426Win24–2Elvir MuriqiTKO4 (10), Oct 2, 200425Win23–2Robert MuhammadTKO5 (8)Mar 14, 200324Loss22–2Orlando RiveraTKO9 (10), Aug 29, 200223Loss22–1Rocky TorresTKO11 (12), May 11, 200222Win22–0Tyrus ArmsteadUD10Mar 30, 200221Win21–0Antonio GarciaTKO1 (8), Jun 8, 200120Win20–0Gerald ColemanTKO7 (8)Dec 15, 200019Win19–0Roosevelt BoothTKO2 (8), Aug 18, 200018Win18–0David McCluskeyTKO2 (4), Jun 24, 200017Win17–0Anthony SpainTKO10 (12), May 20, 200016Win16–0Andre SherrodTKO5 (6), Apr 15, 200015Win15–0Tyrone WallaceTKO3Oct 28, 199914Win14–0James StokesKO3 (8), Oct 9, 199913Win13–0Shannon MillerUD6Jun 18, 199912Win12–0Johnny WalkerTKO1May 15, 199911Win11–0Gregg FloydKO2 (6), Apr 17, 199910Win10–0Mack Willis6Mar 19, 19999Win9–0Larry McFadden1Feb 27, 19998Win8–0Eric RhinehartTKO2Jan 14, 19997Win7–0Anthony DeBardaladinUD4Nov 20, 19986Win6–0Ralph MondayUD4Aug 22, 19985Win5–0Forrest McFarlandUD4Nov 7, 19984Win4–0Calvin SmithTKO2 (4), May 6, 19983Win3–0Cleveland IssacsUD4Feb 13, 19982Win2–0James Mullins4Nov 25, 19971Win1–0Michael Watkins1 (5), Jun 9, 1997
Trainer Danny has been training fighters beginning with his Ocala gym that opened in 1991 and as a trainer since 2010. In 2017 He then moved to Tulua, Colombia where he opened boxeo y Mas Gym. He has trained multiple highly ranked fighters. He is the trainer for former WBC fecabox champion and current WBA N.A.B.A title holder Alexander Castro. Danny now has 2 gyms in Colombia. The original Boxeo Y Mas in Tulua, and his 2nd Boxeo Y Mas gym in Santa Marta, Colombia where he has an exclusive private training camp with all the amenities that athletes need to focus on becoming world champions. He currently is training some of Colombia's top boxing talent.
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