Alberto Melián

Alberto Ezequiel Melián (born 2 January 1990) is an Argentinian boxer.

Amateur career Melián reached the final of the 2010 South American Games at light flyweight, but lost to Oscar Negrete. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he was defeated in the preliminary round of the men's bantamweight tournament by Sergey Vodopyanov, 5–12. At the 2016 Summer Olympics he again participated in the men's bantamweight tournament, winning his first two bouts but losing to Murodjon Akhmadaliev by technical knockout in the quarter-finals. Among Melian's outstanding amateur victories were wins over Cuban Olympic champion Robeisy Ramírez and Frenchman Khedafi Djelkhir, Olympic silver medalist in Beijing 2008 and APB Series World Champion. In 2014, Melián was awarded the "Firpo de Oro" as the best boxer in the country, amateur or professional, by the Boxing's Journalist Union of Argentina (UPERBOX). He expects to compete for a world title before his tenth professional fight.

Professional career Melián made his professional debut in December 2017 against former world title challenger Diego Santillan. Considered by several experts as the best Argentine amateur boxer of the last decade, Melian represented Argentina in numerous international tournaments, including double Olympic participation at the Olympic Games in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. After knocking out the former world title contender Diego Ricardo Santillan in the fifth round in his debut (who entered the ring at 23–2), Melian received the challenge of Aristule, who was present at ringside. Melian accepted the challenge, but asked Aristule to put his national title on the line.

Professional boxing record