Bob Santos (boxing trainer)

Robert "Bob" Santos is an American boxing trainer,^[1] manager,^[2] and cutman. He was named Trainer of the Year^{[3] [4]} by both The Ring ^[5] and Sports Illustrated in 2022,^{[6] [7] [8]} and is a well-known member of the boxing community.^{[9] [10]}

Santos was originally from San Jose, California,^{[3] [10]} where he graduated from San José High School at 17. His connection to boxing came through his family, especially through his maternal cousin, Luis Molina, who competed as a lightweight in the 1956 Summer Olympics.^[11]

Santos started working in construction after graduating high school, and in his early 20s became involved in coaching with featherweight titlist Héctor Lizárraga and trainers Joe Amato and Eddie Devine.^[11] Other trainers who influenced him include Joe Goossen, Emanual Steward, Ronnie Shields, Ruben Guerrero, Joe Chávez, and Chuck Bodak.^[8]

In 2022, Santos trained Dominican junior lightweight Hector Luis Garcia, who secured upset victories over Chris Colbert^[12] in February and Roger Gutierrez in August. He also guided Dominican heavy underdog Alberto Puello ^[13] to the WBA junior welterweight title and Carlos Adames ^[14] to an interim middleweight belt.^[11] Additionally, Santos worked with multi-division titleholder Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero ^{[1] [2] [4]} and junior middleweight/middleweight veteran Erislandy Lara.^[10]

Santos has worked with notable names, including Joel Casamayor, David Morrell Jr.,^[15] Mario Barrios,^{[16] [17]} Rances Barthelemy, Tomoki Kameda, Livingstone Bramble, Eros Correa, and Jose Celaya. Other boxers he was involved with include top contender Luis Nunez,^[18] Cuban Olympian brothers Lenier and Dainier Pero,^[19] WBA minimum world champion Erick Rosa,^[20] and Amilcar Vidal.^[8]

Santos currently trains former world champion Jeison Rosario.^{[21] [22] [23]}

In 2022, Santos was awarded Trainer of the Year by Ring Magazine and Sports Illustrated.^[7] He was also nominated for the Boxing Writers Association of America's 2022 Trainer of the Year.^{[24] [25]}

In 2024, Santos was nominated for The Ring magazine’s Trainer of the Year.^[26]

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