Santos Laciar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Santos Benigno Lacar January 31, 1959 Huinca Renancó, Córdoba, Argentina |
| Other names | Falucho |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | |
| Height | 5 ft 1 in (155 cm) |
| Reach | 62+1⁄2 in (159 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 101 |
| Wins | 79 |
| Wins by KO | 31 |
| Losses | 10 |
| Draws | 11 |
Santos Benigno Laciar (born January 31, 1959), known familiarly as Santos Laciar and nicknamed Falucho, is an Argentine who was boxing's world flyweight and super flyweight champion.
Laciar was born in Huinca Renancó, in the province of Córdoba, Argentina.
Laciar began his career in his hometown, on December 3 of 1976, knocking out Carlos Maliene in four rounds. After three more wins, all by knockout, he was faced with Alejandro Holguin, who held him to a ten-round draw, becoming the first boxer to face Laciar and not come out on the losing end. After three more wins, he drew once again, this time against Jose Ibiris, but in his next fight, he was able to take the Córdoba State Flyweight title away from Carlos Reyes Sosa in Villa María with a 12-round decision. He finished 1977 with four more wins, including a knockout in six in a rematch with Reyes Sosa.
In 1978 he had 13 fights, for an average of slightly more than one fight per month. Among his fights that year: a rematch with Ibiris, which ended in a ten-round decision win for Laciar, two fights versus contender Ramon Soria, which ended in a draw and in Laciar's first defeat, a 10-round decision loss, a fight with Luis Gerez, who drew with Laciar, and Laciar's Buenos Aires debut, a 10-round decision win over Angel Luis Fernandez.
1979 was another busy year for Laciar, boxing 13 times again during that year. He won 9 of those bouts. Among his fights in '79, a loss to future world Junior bantamweight champion Gustavo Ballas, who beat him in 10 on points, a rubber match with Ibris, resulting in another Laciar 10-round decision win, two decision losses to Raúl Pérez, and a 10-round decision win against top contender Federico Condori.
But early in 1980 Laciar started what would turn out to be a great decade for him. He was matched with Miguel Lanzarte on February 26 of that year for the vacant Argentinian flyweight title and won the bout by a decision in 12. After a draw in ten against Condori's brother Ruben, he won four straight bouts, and on August 30, he challenged for the South American flyweight title. In what was his first fight outside Argentina, he and South American champion Jaime Miranda battled to an 8-round no contest (a no contest is declared when circumstances beyond boxing cause the fight to be stopped) in Santiago, Chile. After one more win over Federico Condori, Miranda returned the favor by travelling to Laciar's country and this time, Laciar won the South American title with a 12-round decision win. Laciar finished the year by travelling to England, where he lost a 10-round decision to future world champion Charlie Magri.
In 1981, one day before his birthday, he beat Jose de la Cruz in Mar del Plata. He was already ranked number one by the WBA, and in March he flew to South Africa, where he beat Peter Mathebula on the 28th day of that month, by a knockout in seven rounds to become the world's flyweight champion. After the retirement of Carlos Monzón in 1977 and Victor Galindez in 1978, (Galindez died in 1980 in an auto race accident), Argentina was in need of a world champion boxer, and Laciar became a national hero instantly.
A rematch with Lanzarte, resulting in a 10-round non title decision win, followed, and then he fought at the Luna Park, where he lost his title to Luis Ibarra.
Ibarra lost his title in his first defense to Juan Herrera, and after 5 more bouts, Laciar challenged Herrera in the champion's hometown of Tampico, Mexico. Laciar recovered the crown by a knockout in 13 rounds, and this time, he wouldn't lose it again. He defended it for three years, after which he left it vacant. He defeated former world champion Betulio González in Maracaibo, Venezuela by a decision in 15, Steve Muchoki in Copenhagen, Denmark by a knockout in 13, Ramon Nery (a deaf-mute boxer) by a knockout in 9 at Córdoba, Shuichi Hozumi by a knockout in 2 in Japan, Hee Sup Chin, by a knockout in one in South Korea, Juan Herrera, in a rematch at Marsala, Italy, by a decision in 15, former world champion Prudencio Cardona by a knockout in 10 in Córdoba, former two-time world Junior Flyweight champion Hilario Zapata by a decision in 15 at Buenos Aires, and Antoine Monteiro, beaten by a knockout in 11 at Paris, France. After his fight with Monteiro, he decided to leave the world Flyweight championship vacant. His fame also surpassed the Argentinian borders and he became famous all over Latin America, The Ring 's Spanish edition featuring him on the cover many times, as well as on posters and articles. He was also on the cover of Guantes magazine multiple times during his second period as champion.
On June 8, 1986, he and Jaime Miranda had a rubber match, Laciar winning a ten-round decision. Two months later, world Junior Bantamweight champion, Mexican Gilberto Roman, travelled to Argentina to defend his WBC and Lineal crown versus Laciar, the fight ending in a 12-round draw. Six more wins followed, including one against Hector Patri, and then on May 16 of 1987, he and Roman met again. This time the WBC chose a neutral place for the fight, but Laciar won the fight by a knockout in 11 at Reims, France, [1] [2] becoming a world champion for the third time. However, in his first title defense, Laciar was on the losing end of a decision against Colombian Sugar Baby Rojas in Miami.
Laciar kept on boxing and reeled off eight more straight wins, but on October 8, 1988, he was outpointed by Juan Carazo in Caguas, Puerto Rico, by a decision in 12 rounds. Two more wins and another no contest followed, and, after Carazo lost in his title try against Roman by decision, it was Laciar's turn to face the Mexican again. This time, they boxed in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, and Roman came out victorious by a 12-round decision. [3]
Roman would die in a car crash the next year, and all chances of a fourth bout between the two, which was a possibility that was being talked about, were dashed with Roman's death.
Laciar fought three more bouts, all in 1990, after which he decided to retire. A world-traveling boxer, Laciar had fights in twelve countries, not counting fights held at his native Argentina. The countries he visited as a professional boxer to fight at were, in the following order, Chile, the United Kingdom (specifically, England), South Africa, Mexico, Venezuela, Denmark, Japan, South Korea, Italy, France, the United States and Puerto Rico. [4]
His final record was 79 wins, 10 losses, 11 draws and 1 fight ended in a no-contest, with 31 wins coming by knockout.
Laciar became an occasional boxing commentator for TyC Sports's Saturday night boxing show, Boxeo de Primera .
| 101 fights | 79 wins | 10 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 31 | 0 |
| By decision | 48 | 10 |
| Draws | 11 | |
| No contests | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Loss | 79–10–11 (1) |  Hugo Soto | UD | 10 | 1990–12–21 | Catamarca, Argentina | |
| 100 | Win | 79–9–11 (1) | Ruben Condori | PTS | 10 | 1990–09–15 | Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena, Argentina | |
| 99 | Win | 78–9–11 (1) | Juan Carlos Cortes | UD | 10 | 1990–04–27 | Laguna Larga, Argentina | |
| 98 | Loss | 77–9–11 (1) |  Gilberto Román | UD | 12 | 1989–09–12 |  Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | For WBC and Lineal Super flyweight titles. |
| 97 | Win | 77–8–11 (1) | Hugo Gomez | PTS | 10 | 1989–04–06 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 96 | Win | 76–8–11 (1) | Jesús Moreno | KO | 3 (10) | 1989–02–18 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 95 | NC | 75–8–11 (1) | Raúl Ojeda | NC | 1 (10) | 1989–01–07 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 94 | Loss | 75–8–11 |  Juan Carazo | SD | 12 | 1988–10–08 | Caguas, Puerto Rico | WBC Super flyweight title eliminator. |
| 93 | Win | 75–7–11 | Alejandrino Castaño | KO | 5 (10) | 1988–06–24 | Justiniano Posse, Argentina | |
| 92 | Win | 74–7–11 |  Ricardo Escobar Baez | PTS | 10 | 1988–06–10 | Viedma, Argentina | |
| 91 | Win | 73–7–11 | Luis Alberto Ocampo | RTD | 6 (10) | 1988–05–07 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 90 | Win | 72–7–11 | Ricardo Escobar Baez | PTS | 10 | 1988–04–15 | Pico Truncado, Argentina | |
| 89 | Win | 71–7–11 | José Narvaez | PTS | 10 | 1988–04–02 | San Luis, Argentina | |
| 88 | Win | 70–7–11 |  Bernardo Mendoza | KO | 3 (10) | 1988–03–05 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 87 | Win | 69–7–11 | Juan Alberto Ivalo | KO | 6 (10) | 1988–02–17 | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
| 86 | Win | 68–7–11 | José Narvaez | PTS | 10 | 1987–12–10 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 85 | Loss | 67–7–11 |  Sugar Baby Rojas | UD | 12 | 1987–08–08 | Tamiami Fairgrounds Auditorium, Miami, Florida, U.S. | Lost WBC and Lineal Super flyweight titles. |
| 84 | Win | 67–6–11 | Gilberto Román | TKO | 11 (12) 1:10 | 1987–05–16 |  Salle René-Tys, Reims, France | Won WBC and Lineal Super flyweight titles. |
| 83 | Win | 66–6–11 | Alejandro Vazquez | KO | 2 (10) | 1987–04–14 | Trelew, Argentina | |
| 82 | Win | 65–6–11 | Isaias Carvacho | KO | 4 (10) | 1987–03–21 | Esquel, Argentina | |
| 81 | Win | 64–6–11 | José Narvaez | PTS | 10 | 1987–03–05 | La Rioja, Argentina | |
| 80 | Win | 63–6–11 | Hector Patri | PTS | 10 | 1987–01–30 | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
| 79 | Win | 62–6–11 | Oscar Bolivar | PTS | 10 | 1986–11–08 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 78 | Win | 61–6–11 | José Narvaez | PTS | 10 | 1986–10–24 | Concepcion, Argentina | |
| 77 | Draw | 60–6–11 | Gilberto Román | PTS | 12 | 1986–08–30 | Pabellon Verde, Cordoba, Argentina | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 76 | Win | 60–6–10 | Alberto Pacheco | KO | 8 (10) | 1986–07–17 | Santa Fe, Argentina | |
| 75 | Win | 59–6–10 | Jaime Miranda | PTS | 10 | 1986–06–08 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 74 | Win | 58–6–10 | Antoine Montero | UD | 15 | 1985–05–06 | Palais des Sports, Grenoble, France | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 73 | Win | 57–6–10 |  Hilario Zapata | UD | 15 | 1984–12–08 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 72 | Win | 56–6–10 | Prudencio Cardona | KO | 10 (15) | 1984–09–15 | Pabellon Verde, Cordoba, Argentina | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 71 | Win | 55–6–10 | Juan Herrera | SD | 15 | 1984–01–28 |  Palazzo Dello Sport, Marsala, Italy | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 70 | Win | 54–6–10 | Juan Carlos Cortes | PTS | 10 | 1983–12–16 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 69 | Win | 53–6–10 |  Shin Hi-sup | TKO | 1 (15) 1:19 | 1983–07–17 | Halla Gym, Jeju, South Korea | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 68 | Win | 52–6–10 |  Shuichi Hozumi | TKO | 2 (15) 2:52 | 1983–05–05 | Sangyokan Gym, Shizuoka, Japan | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 67 | Win | 51–6–10 |  Ramón Nery | TKO | 9 (15) 1:25 | 1983–03–04 | Estadio Chateau Carreras, Cordoba, Argentina | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 66 | Win | 50–6–10 | Rodolfo Rodriguez | PTS | 10 | 1982–12–18 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 65 | Win | 49–6–10 |  Steve Muchoki | TKO | 13 (15) | 1982–11–05 |  K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 64 | Win | 48–6–10 | Ramón Albers | TKO | 5 (10) | 1982–10–09 | Monteros, Argentina | |
| 63 | Win | 47–6–10 |  Betulio González | SD | 15 | 1982–08–14 | Hotel del Lago Casino, Maracaibo, Venezuela | Retained WBA Flyweight title. |
| 62 | Win | 46–6–10 | José Gomez | PTS | 10 | 1982–07–22 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 61 | Win | 45–6–10 | Mario Paniagua | PTS | 10 | 1982–07–08 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 60 | Win | 44–6–10 | Domingo Aragón | PTS | 10 | 1982–06–11 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 59 | Win | 43–6–10 | Juan Herrera | TKO | 13 (15) 2:35 | 1982–05–01 | Carte Clara Baseball Park, Merida, Mexico | Won WBA Flyweight title. |
| 58 | Draw | 42–6–10 | Rodolfo Rodriguez | PTS | 10 | 1981–11–07 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 57 | Win | 42–6–9 | Miguel Angel Lazarte | PTS | 10 | 1981–09–18 | San Miguel, Argentina | |
| 56 | Draw | 41–6–9 | Ruben Condori | PTS | 10 | 1981–09–18 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 55 | Win | 41–6–8 | Domingo Aragón | PTS | 10 | 1981–09–04 | Morteros, Argentina | |
| 54 | Draw | 40–6–8 | Rodolfo Rodriguez | PTS | 10 | 1981–08–22 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 53 | Loss | 40–6–7 | Luis Ibarra | UD | 15 | 1981–06–06 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Lost WBA Flyweight title. |
| 52 | Win | 40–5–7 | Miguel Angel Lazarte | PTS | 10 | 1981–05–08 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 51 | Win | 39–5–7 |  Peter Mathebula | TKO | 7 (15) 2:02 | 1981–03–28 | Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa | Won WBA Flyweight title. |
| 50 | Win | 38–5–7 | José De La Cruz López | PTS | 10 | 1981–01–30 | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
| 49 | Loss | 37–5–7 |  Charlie Magri | PTS | 12 | 1980–12–08 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K. | |
| 48 | Win | 37–4–7 | Jaime Miranda | PTS | 12 | 1980–11–22 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | Won South American Flyweight title. |
| 47 | Win | 36–4–7 | Federico Condori | PTS | 10 | 1980–11–06 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 46 | Draw | 35–4–7 | Jaime Miranda | TD | 8 (12) | 1980–08–27 | Santiago de Chile, Chile | For South American Flyweight title. |
| 45 | Win | 35–4–6 | Miguel Angel Velez | RTD | 6 (10) | 1980–07–22 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 44 | Win | 34–4–6 | Adrian Roman | KO | 3 (10) | 1980–06–06 | Villa Maria, Argentina | |
| 43 | Win | 33–4–6 | Juan José Brizuela | PTS | 10 | 1980–05–09 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 42 | Win | 32–4–6 | Domingo Aragón | PTS | 10 | 1980–04–18 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 41 | Draw | 31–4–6 | Ruben Condori | PTS | 10 | 1980–03–28 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 40 | Win | 31–4–5 | Miguel Angel Lazarte | PTS | 12 | 1980–02–27 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | Won vacant Argentine Flyweight title. |
| 39 | Win | 30–4–5 | Federico Condori | PTS | 10 | 1979–12–07 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 38 | Loss | 29–4–5 | Gustavo Ballas | PTS | 10 | 1979–11–03 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 37 | Win | 29–3–5 | Hector Velazquez | PTS | 10 | 1979–10–12 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 36 | Win | 28–3–5 | Luis Gomez | PTS | 10 | 1979–09–06 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 35 | Draw | 27–3–5 | Miguel Angel Lazarte | PTS | 10 | 1979–08–22 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 34 | Win | 27–3–4 | Juan Espíndola | PTS | 10 | 1979–06–22 | Cordoba, Argentina | |
| 33 | Loss | 26–3–4 | Raúl Perez | PTS | 10 | 1979–05–25 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 32 | Win | 26–2–4 | José Flores | TKO | 7 (10) | 1979–04–26 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 31 | Win | 25–2–4 |  Gilberto Lopez | PTS | 10 | 1979–04–11 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 30 | Loss | 24–2–4 | Raúl Perez | PTS | 10 | 1979–03–16 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 29 | Win | 24–1–4 | Juan Carlos Rios | PTS | 10 | 1979–02–09 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 28 | Win | 23–1–4 | José Ibiris | PTS | 10 | 1979–01–26 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 27 | Win | 22–1–4 | Raúl Perez | PTS | 10 | 1978–12–14 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | Not to be confused with Raúl Pérez |
| 26 | Loss | 21–1–4 | Ramon Soria | PTS | 10 | 1978–12–01 | Ciudad Mendoza, Argentina | |
| 25 | Win | 21–0–4 | Felipe Rojas | KO | 5 (10) | 1978–11–09 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 24 | Win | 20–0–4 |  Angel Lois Fernandez | PTS | 10 | 1978–10–21 | Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| 23 | Draw | 19–0–4 | Luis Gerez | PTS | 10 | 1978–10–06 | Villa Maria, Argentina | |
| 22 | Win | 19–0–3 | José Lopez | TKO | 4 (10) | 1978–09–20 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 21 | Win | 18–0–3 | José Izquierdo | PTS | 10 | 1978–09–06 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 20 | Win | 17–0–3 | Hector Barreto | PTS | 10 | 1978–07–08 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 19 | Win | 16–0–3 | Reynaldo Romero | PTS | 10 | 1978–06–02 | Realico, Argentina | |
| 18 | Win | 15–0–3 | Carlos Aguero | PTS | 10 | 1978–05–19 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 17 | Draw | 14–0–3 | Ramon Soria | PTS | 10 | 1978–04–14 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 16 | Win | 14–0–2 | José Ibiris | PTS | 10 | 1978–02–10 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 15 | Win | 13–0–2 | Luis Gerez | PTS | 10 | 1978–01–13 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 14 | Win | 12–0–2 | Enrique Navarro | TKO | 6 (10) | 1977–12–17 | Realico, Argentina | |
| 13 | Win | 11–0–2 | José Izquierdo | PTS | 10 | 1977–11–04 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 12 | Win | 10–0–2 | Carlos Reyes Sosa | RTD | 6 (10) | 1977–10–22 | Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina | |
| 11 | Win | 9–0–2 | Manuel Quinteros | RTD | 8 (10) | 1977–09–30 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 10 | Win | 8–0–2 | Carlos Reyes Sosa | PTS | 12 | 1977–09–09 | Villa Maria, Argentina | |
| 9 | Draw | 7–0–2 | José Ibiris | PTS | 10 | 1977–07–08 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 8 | Win | 7–0–1 | José Zárate | KO | 1 (10) | 1977–06–18 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 7 | Win | 6–0–1 | José Izquierdo | PTS | 10 | 1977–05–07 | Realico, Argentina | |
| 6 | Win | 5–0–1 | Alberto Martin | PTS | 10 | 1977–04–22 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 5 | Draw | 4–0–1 | Alejandro Olguin | PTS | 10 | 1977–03–26 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | José Flores | KO | 4 (6) | 1977–02–25 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Amado Chavez | TKO | 5 (6) | 1977–02–05 | Realico, Argentina | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Angel Pereyra | TKO | 4 (6) | 1977–01–15 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Carlos Maliene | KO | 4 (6) | 1976–12–03 | Huinca Renanco, Argentina |
Juan Carazo Serrano is a former boxer from Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Jiro Watanabe is a Japanese former boxer. Watanabe, who fought only in Japan and South Korea, was one of the first World super flyweight champions, as the division was relatively new when he was crowned.
Jeff Fenech is an Australian former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2008. He won world titles in three weight divisions, having held the IBF bantamweight title from 1985 to 1987, the WBC super-bantamweight title from 1987 to 1988, the WBC featherweight title from 1988 to 1990. He retroactively won a fourth weight division title, the WBC super-featherweight title in 1991, after the WBC recounted his first bout against Azumah Nelson which had been a controversial decision draw. Fenech was trained by renowned Sydney-based trainer Johnny Lewis.
Eleoncio Mercedes was a Dominican boxer, who was world champion in the Flyweight division.
Hilario Zapata is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1993. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC light flyweight title twice between 1980 and 1983 and the WBA flyweight title from 1985 to 1987.
Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes between 1995 and 2007, from super bantamweight to super featherweight.
Jorge Armando Arce Armenta, best known as Jorge Arce, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2014. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the second boxer from Mexico to win world titles in four weight divisions. In a storied career, Arce held the WBO light flyweight title from 1998 to 1999; the WBC and lineal light flyweight titles from 2002 to 2004; the WBO super flyweight title in 2010; the WBO junior featherweight title in 2011; and the WBO bantamweight title from 2011 to 2012. Additionally he held the WBC interim flyweight title from 2005 to 2006, the WBA interim super flyweight title from 2008 to 2009, and challenged once for the WBC featherweight title in his final fight in 2014.
Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.
During the 1970s, boxing was characterized by dominating champions and history-making rivalries. The decade had many superstars, who also had fierce rivals. Alexis Argüello, for example, who won the world Featherweight and Jr. Lightweight titles in the '70s, had to overcome Alfredo Escalera twice before the decade was over.
Betulio Segundo González is a former boxer from Venezuela, who is considered a national hero in Venezuela. He is considered by many to be Venezuela's greatest world champion in boxing history. A combatant of 92 bouts, he fought until eleven months before he turned forty, the mandatory age for professional fighters to retire in Venezuela.
Masahiko Harada, better known as Fighting Harada, is a Japanese former professional boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring undisputed flyweight titles from 1962 to 1963 and the WBA, WBC, and The Ring undisputed bantamweight titles from 1965 and 1968. He is currently the president of the Japanese boxing association.
Prudencio Cardona was a Colombian professional boxer who was world flyweight champion. He represented his native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. He was the older brother of former super bantamweight world champion, Ricardo Cardona.
José Antonio Rivera was a Puerto Rican boxer. He was much better known as El Gallo Rivera or Tonito Rivera, and was a prominent boxer during the decade of the 1980s.
Gilberto Román was a Mexican professional boxer and a member of the 1980 Mexican Olympic team. Román was a two-time WBC and Lineal Super Flyweight Champion and is considered by many fans to be one of the great champions in this division. Gilberto was trained by Boxing Hall of Famer Ignacio Beristáin.
Fernando Montiel Martínez is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a multiple-time former world champion in three weight classes, having held the WBO flyweight title from 2001 to 2002, the WBO junior bantamweight title twice between 2002 and 2008, and the unified WBC and WBO bantamweight titles from 2010 to 2011.
Katsushige Kawashima is a Japanese retired professional boxer who fought in the super flyweight division. He is a former WBC and lineal super flyweight champion.
Geronimo "Gerry" J. Peñalosa is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC super-flyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO bantamweight title from 2007 to 2009. Originally from the city of San Carlos, Negros Occidental, Peñalosa currently resides in Manila. He was trained mainly by Freddie Roach, and went on to become a boxing trainer himself after retirement. Peñalosa's older brother, Dodie Boy Peñalosa, is also a former boxer and world champion.
Moon Sung-kil is a Korean former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1993. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA bantamweight title from 1988 to 1989 and the WBC super-flyweight title from 1990 to 1993. His name is also rendered Sung Kil Moon.
Jorge Luján is a Panamanian who was a professional boxer and fought many top-flight boxers and several champions during the 1970s and 1980s. Luján is the former Lineal and WBA Bantamweight world champion. He was managed by Aurelio Cortez.
Ramon Antonio Nery is a Dominican former professional boxer, who was once ranked in the top ten in the world among Flyweight boxers by the World Boxing Association, and who once fought for the WBA's world Flyweight championship. At a regional level, Nery was the Dominican Republic's national Flyweight champion. Nery was born with deafness, and his boxing nickname was "sordito", which means "(little) deaf (person)" in Spanish. Nery's condition meant he had to have special lights installed on the ring's corners when he fought; that way he could tell when a round began or finished.