PHOTOS: You could say Winter Park Firefighter-Paramedic Alfredo Escalera Jr. is a little bit of an adrenaline junkie.
Born in Puerto Rico, Escalera moved to Casselberry with his mother when he was a small child. Later, he followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a boxer. His father, also named Alfredo Escalera, was a professional boxer with 70 bouts between 1970 and 1983.
“He was a Super Featherweight World Champion from 1975 to 1978. So boxing was something that I grew up with, whenever I would visit him back in Puerto Rico. Boxing has kind of always been in my life,” Escalera said. Escalera himself turned pro in 2005, with 24 bouts until his last fight in 2013.
“I finished my record at 19-4-1. I made it as high as number 15 in the world,” Escalera said.