Albert Guardado: U.S. World Medalist and Olympic Boxer
American light-flyweight Albert Guardado competed at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics after winning medals at the World Championships and Pan American Games. Two victories took him to the Olympic quarterfinals, where Ukraine’s Oleg Kiryukhin ended his run.
International medals before Atlanta
Guardado was born on July 11, 1973, in Redlands, California, and became associated with Topeka, Kansas. He earned light-flyweight bronze at the 1993 World Championships in Tampere and another bronze at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata.
Those results made him a credible medal contender before the Atlanta Games. Securing a place on the United States team required another demanding step: Guardado won the final Olympic box-off against Jesse Gallardo after forcing the deciding contest with an earlier victory.
Two wins and a quarterfinal defeat
In Atlanta, Guardado defeated Botswana’s Healer Modiradilo in his opening bout and Madagascar’s Anicet Rasoanaivo in the next round. Kiryukhin then beat him in the quarterfinals, leaving Guardado outside the Olympic medal positions.
He turned professional after the Games and compiled five wins and two losses. His professional career ended in 1998 after defeats in his final two contests.
Guardado was a world championship and Pan American Games medalist, an Olympic quarterfinalist, and later a professional boxer. His Atlanta appearance did not produce a medal, but it followed several years of documented success in international amateur competition.
Olympedia’s athlete and event records document Guardado’s Olympic run; contemporary reporting also confirms his quarterfinal exit. Sources: Olympic team selection report; [1] [2] [3]
Sources
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
