Gary Balletto


Gary Balletto. Outside the ring, in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, Balletto is the New England representative for the Joint Association of Boxers, owns a boxing gym- Balletto’s Boxing Gym, a realty company- Balletto Realty, and a construction company- Balletto Construction. He has 3 children, Gary, Hailey, and Aiden.
Balletto turned pro just 10 days before his 21st birthday, amassing a 30–3–2 record in a 10-year career of boxing, 26 by way of knock out. One of his three losses came to Michael Clark, who would later appear on the ESPN reality show "Contender Season 2" as a team-mate of Balletto, where they both were on the Gold Team. Another loss came to Gregorio Vargas, a former WBC Featherweight champion and IBA Super-Featherweight champion, to whom Balletto lost his IBU title.
On the show, Balletto won his first-round fight, where Aaron Torres chose him as an opponent, by split decision. In his second fight, Norberto Bravo beat him, by unanimous decision.
In 2008, he appeared at IFC Theater in New York City to promote a feature verite documentary "Sweet Dreams", which told the story of his life and efforts to unionize the sport through JAB.
Balletto has since continued his boxing career, winning by technical knockout on against a young light welterweight prospect Matthew Strode.
In June 2013, Balletto sustained a spinal cord injury in his backyard playing with his son, spinning around on a pull up bar that gave way. He broke 6 vertebrae in his neck, leaving him with a C5 spinal cord injury. He is now a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down. Determined to fight this battle as he has all of his bouts in the ring, he has not let the injury slow him down. In 2017, Balletto founded “The Gary Tiger Balletto Foundation” to bring awareness to and provide resources and assistance to those with paralysis injuries.
His current efforts include the creation of the very first affordable adaptive gym in the state of Rhode Island, in conjunction with the Cranston YMCA. He has already raised funds and donated two Functional Electric Stimulation bikes which are booked and used around the clock, by Balletto himself and others with paralysis injuries to maintain muscle health and prevent atrophy.
There is additional equipment being added to complete a full, comprehensive adaptive gym. The gym was set to open to members of the local community with like injuries and other conditions such as stroke, MS, etc. to come and work out alongside their family members by spring 2019.
Balletto resides in Cranston, Rhode Island, with his girlfriend and children.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
36Win31–3–2 Matthew StrodeTKO9, 0:592006-12-01 Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
35Loss30–3–2 Norberto BravoUD52006-02-06 Contender Gymnasium, Pasadena, California, USA
34Win30–2–2 Aaron Torres52006-01-21 Contender Gymnasium, Pasadena, California, USA
33Loss29–2–2 Gregorio Vargas122003-10-31 Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USALost IBU Lightweight title.
32Win29–1–2 Luis Alfonso LizarragaUD102003-07-25 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USARetained IBU Lightweight title.
31Win28–1–2 Frank HoughtalingKO4, 1:022003-05-30 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
30Win27–1–2 Johnny WalkerKO1, 2:492003-03-21 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USAWon vacant IBU Lightweight title.
29Win26–1–2 Juan Polo PerezKO1 2003-01-11 Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
28Loss25–1–2 Michael ClarkUD102002-10-25 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
27Win25–0–2 Alric JohnsonKO4 2002-07-26 Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USARetained EBA Lightweight title.
26Win24–0–2 Mike DiBenedettoTKO9, 2:372002-03-01 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
25Win23–0–2 John Trigg4, 3:002001-12-07 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
24Win22–0–2 Fray Luis SierraTKO1 2001-11-16 Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
23Win21–0–2 Joseph FigueroaUD102001-06-02 Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USAWon EBA Lightweight title.
22Win20–0–2 Freddy CruzUD62001-05-04 Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
21Win19–0–2 John ScalziTKO1 2001-03-02 Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
20Win18–0–2 Hector Arroyo62001-02-09 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
19Win17–0–2 Larry O'ShieldsTKO4, 1:202000-12-22 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
18Win16–0–2 Richard DinkinsTKO3 2000-11-17 Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
17Draw15–0–2 Glenn Ford62000-02-25 Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
16Win15–0–1 Teddy WorthTKO2 1999-11-24 Rhodes-on-the Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
15Win14–0–1 Duron WilsonTKO4, 2:521999-01-29 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
14Win13–0–1 Forbes DavidKO1 1998-12-12 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
13Win12–0–1 Alonzo SojourneyTKO1, 2:411998-10-24 Roseland Ballroom, Taunton, Massachusetts, USA
12Win11–0–1 Manuel SantiagoTKO6 1998-08-02 TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
11Win10–0–1 Felix MartiTKO6 1998-06-19 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
10Win9–0–1 Dominick MonacoTKO3 1998-06-05 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
9Win8–0–1 Hector QuerioTKO1, 1:401998-03-27 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
8Win7–0–1 Gerry OcampoKO2 1998-02-20 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
7Win6–0–1 Alex OrtizTKO2, 2:321997-12-05 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
6Win5–0–1 Jose LaPorteTKO2, 2:531997-10-23 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
5Win4–0–1 Rafael PinaTKO1 1997-09-25 Strand Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
4Win3–0–1 Barton Velez1 1997-03-13 Strand Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
3Win2–0–1 Miguel VasquezTKO1 1996-10-25 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
2Win1–0–1 Lucas Pacheco1 1996-09-27 Eastside Improvement, Brockton, Massachusetts, USA
1Draw0–0–1 Hector Querio1 1996-05-11 Dayville, Connecticut, USAProfessional debut. Technical draw after a headbutt rendered Balletto unable to continue.