Boxing Legend Michael Carbajal Honored With Phoenix Street Name

PHOENIX — Michael Carbajal’s career as a boxer has been remarkable. It involved him taking home six world titles as well as an Olympic silver medal in 1988. He is also primarily responsible for getting the flyweight division’s compensation increased; he was the first junior flyweight to make $1,000,000 in earnings.

Like a few of the best boxers of every generation, Michael Carbajal(49-4, 33KOs) was destined for battle. Even if he might not recall it, Carbajal promised his father when he was just 6 years old that he would win a world championship and end his career as a champion.

“I started (boxing) and then finally in my first fight, (my dad) came up to me, he goes, ‘You remember what you told me when you were 6 years old?’” said Carbajal in media reports. 

“I said ‘No.’ And he said, ‘You told me that you’re going to be a world champion and you told me you’re going to retire world champion.’ I said, ‘I said that?’” he added.

Along the way, he won the unified championship, made eleven successful title defenses, won the 1993 Fighter of the Year award from Ring Magazine, and became the second fighter from Arizona to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Situated just a few hundred yards from his childhood home, Michael Carbajal’s 9th Street Gym is one of the ways he is helping the next generation of Phoenix boxers. Almost every day, Carbajal is there to mentor boxers of all ages, whether their goal is to compete in amateur competitions or simply maintain their physical fitness.

Because of his accomplishments, he will have a Phoenix, Arizona street named after him, only a short distance from his childhood home. 

The 56-year-old, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, was approved on Wednesday afternoon by a unanimous vote of the Phoenix City Council. People in the community, including his family and admirers, testified about how much he means to them. They were acknowledged.

It’s finished, after more than a year of work. “Michael Carbajal Way” will be commemorated with ceremonial signs at the northeastern intersections of 9th and Fillmore. The street and Michael Carbajal’s 9th St Boxing Gym are on the same corner. Just as with many of his professional fights, the vote was unanimous in his favor.