At the age of 25, Quilisto is a three-year pro. A rising young prospect at 160 pounds, he stayed active in the ring with three fights in 2016 and three in 2017. He won his first two fights in 2017 with spectacular one-punch knockouts – one with each hand.
In his last fight on November 11 in Fresno, California, he lost a four-round split decision against Even Torres. Quilisto gave a strong effort and it was a good, close fight, but Torres’ fast start gave him the edge on the scorecards.
ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported from ringside [excerpts]: Middleweight Even Torres of El Paso, Texas, pulled the upset by winning a split decision over crowd favorite Quilisto Madera, of Stockton, California.
It was a fierce fight….
In the end, two judges scored it 39-37 for Torres and one had it 39-37 for Madera. [End Rafael item]
Quilisto said, “I use to describe myself as just an indestructible machine, but now, I don’t know. Now I’m trying to be like Bruce Lee and just go with whatever – be able to morph into anything.”
Regarding his nickname, he said., “That’s been my nickname with my family and friends since I was a very young kid, just growing up. I just use that as my boxing name when I became a boxer.”
Quilisto said, “I use to describe myself as just an indestructible machine, but now, I don’t know. Now I’m trying to be like Bruce Lee and just go with whatever – be able to morph into anything.”
Regarding his nickname, he said., “That’s been my nickname with my family and friends since I was a very young kid, just growing up. I just use that as my boxing name when I became a boxer.”
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Quilisto said, “I was born in Mount Vernon, Washington. My mom and dad are from Los Altos de Jalisco, Mexico. My family moved around to a couple of different towns, then we moved to Stockton when I was eight years old and I grew up here. I’ve got one brother and one sister. I have one half-brother and one half-sister, too, but I didn’t grow up with them. My dad works in construction and my mom cleans houses and stuff like that. My brother, Hector Madera, is a boxer too. He was a top amateur, now he’s a pro.
“I was always boxing since I was a little kid, like for fun in the streets. I was getting into a lot of fights my whole life – I thought I might as well go to a gym because I was fighting all the time. I started boxing when I was 15, but I didn’t have my first amateur fight until I was 16, when I got out of Juvenile Hall camp. I was in and out of that camp a couple of times. But ever since my first fight, I never stopped fighting.
“I started boxing at the Stockton PAL. Then I got with my trainer, Felipe Martinez, and we trained in his backyard since I was young. That’s where I got most of my amateur fights at, out of his backyard.
“I had about 30, 35 amateur fights. I only really had one loss, but on the books, I probably have about five.
“I’m ambidextrous, I guess you could say. I throw a ball with my right hand and write my name with my left hand. I’m single, but I have a daughter. Her name is Caroline, she’s three years old.”…
From the Stockton Record, by Sports Editor Bob Highfill [Aug. 18, 2015 – excerpts]: The excited kids with thin builds, wide eyes and a dream have grown into young men.
Quilisto and Hector Madera still are working to be successful boxers. The 23-year-old Quilisto and 18-year-old Ector, who grew up in Stockton, are more focused and mature than five years ago, when we last visited them at Felipe Martinez’s boxing gym in the backyard of his home in Lathrop. In 2010, the Maderas were somewhat new to boxing under Martinez, who works at Tracy Disposal and has operated his makeshift gym for more than a decade.
“Right now, it’s just mostly about chasing the dream and getting the opportunity for the right door to open,” said Quilisto Madera. “We’re not all the way there yet, but pretty soon, I’d say maybe another year, my life will be different.”
The Maderas have accomplished much since they began working with Martinez some seven years ago. Quilisto moved to Fresno after graduating from One.Charter School in Stockton, won the California Golden Gloves, had a daughter, turned pro….
Hector, a recent graduate of Stockton High, won the Concord Cup in 2009, the Desert Showdown, and has been ranked in the top three in his division the past three years.
“He has all the skills in the world,” Quilisto said about his brother. “I know he’s tough. He has the heart, the skills, he has what it takes.”
The Madera brothers grew up amid tough surroundings in Stockton and turned to boxing to better themselves.
“If I didn’t have boxing, I’d probably be locked up somewhere or I don’t know, dead,” said Quilisto. “Boxing’s helped me do a lot.”
Martinez turned his backyard into a boxing gym to give kids, such as Quilisto and Hector, an alternative to the streets. The former boxer never has charged his students for his expertise and attention.
