Luis Manuel Rodríguez
Luis Manuel Rodríguez (17 June 1937 – 8 July 1996) was a Cuban professional boxer. Known as "El Feo", he began his career in pre-Castro Havana. In Cuba, he twice defeated the ill-fated future welterweight champion Benny Paret. He held the WBA, WBC, and lineal welterweight titles in 1963, and challenged once for the WBA, and WBC middleweight titles in 1969.
Luis Manuel Rodríguez | |
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Rodríguez (right) vs. Nino Benvenuti in 1969 | |
Statistics | |
Real name | Luis Manuel Rodríguez |
Nickname(s) | El Feo |
Weight(s) | |
Nationality | Cuban |
Born | Camagüey, Cuba | 17 June 1937
Died | 8 July 1996 59) Miami, Florida, U.S. | (aged
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 121 |
Wins | 107 |
Wins by KO | 49 |
Losses | 13 |
No contests | 1 |
After the Cuban Revolution, Rodríguez campaigned in the United States. Fighting out of Miami, Rodriguez decisioned top welterweights such as Virgil Akins and Rudell Stitch.
Professional career
He was unbeaten in 36 fights before losing a split decision to Emile Griffith in a 1960 non-title fight. In 1963, Rodriguez and Griffith fought twice for the lineal welterweight title.[1] Rodriguez defeated Griffith by a unanimous decision to win the title, but Griffith regained it three months later with a split decision. Their fourth and final meeting came in 1964, with Griffith retaining the welterweight title with a split decision.[2]
Rodriguez was trained by Angelo Dundee at the old 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach alongside Ralph Dupas, Willie Pastrano, Florentino Fernández and Pinklon Thomas.[3]
Rodriguez was ringside and provided ancillary television commentary for the nationally televised Thursday night, 21 March 1963 Dodger Stadium featherweight championship bout between reigning champ Davey Moore and Sugar Ramos, won after ten rounds by technical knockout (TKO) by Ramos and resulting within the hour in a comatose state for Moore, and ultimately his death on 25 March. The incident was memorialized by recording artist Bob Dylan in his long-unreleased (but widely bootlegged) song, "Who Killed Davey Moore?" (the complete telecast of the fight is available on YouTube, as are several of Dylan's various performances of the song.)
In November 1969, Rodriguez challenged Nino Benvenuti in Rome, Italy, for the middleweight world title. In the eleventh-round, slightly ahead on points but tiring and badly cut, Benvenuti suddenly landed a perfect left hook that left Rodriguez on the floor for 5 minutes.[4]
Rodriguez retired in 1972.[4] He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.
In 2009 The Ring magazine ranked Rodriguez as the third-greatest Cuban boxer of all time, behind Kid Gavilán and Kid Chocolate.[5]
Eastern Airlines Flight 202
Rodriguez and his trainers were among 33 passengers on Eastern Airlines flight 202 from Miami to Dallas, Texas, when that flight got hijacked and taken to Cuba on July 24, 1961.[6] Rodriguez was fearful for his life since he had escaped from Cuba recently. However, Cuban authorities allowed the plane and its passengers to return to the United States without further incident. Rodriguez was on his way to a fight versus Curtis Cokes, which he eventually lost by split decision some days later, on August 3.
Professional boxing record
121 fights | 107 wins | 13 losses |
By knockout | 49 | 3 |
By decision | 57 | 10 |
By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
No contests | 1 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
121 | Loss | 107–13 (1) | SD | 10 | Apr 12, 1971 | |||
120 | Loss | 107–12 (1) | MD | 10 | Mar 16, 1971 | |||
119 | Win | 107–11 (1) | UD | 10 | Nov 30, 1971 | |||
118 | Win | 106–11 (1) | KO | 2 (10) | Nov 01, 1971 | |||
117 | Loss | 105–11 (1) | TKO | 6 (10) | Aug 03, 1971 | |||
116 | Loss | 105–10 (1) | PTS | 10 | May 25, 1971 | |||
115 | Win | 105–9 (1) | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 07, 1971 | |||
114 | Win | 104–9 (1) | SD | 10 | Jan 26, 1971 | |||
113 | Win | 103–9 (1) | KO | 5 (10) | Dec 01, 1970 | |||
112 | Win | 102–9 (1) | UD | 12 | Sep 24, 1970 | |||
111 | Win | 101–9 (1) | MD | 10 | Aug 20, 1970 | |||
110 | Loss | 100–9 (1) | PTS | 10 | Jul 31, 1970 | |||
109 | Win | 100–8 (1) | TKO | 5 (10) | Jun 27, 1970 | |||
108 | Win | 99–8 (1) | UD | 10 | Apr 14, 1970 | |||
107 | Win | 98–8 (1) | TKO | 4 (10) | Mar 17, 1970 | |||
106 | Win | 97–8 (1) | KO | 4 (10) | Feb 10, 1970 | |||
105 | Loss | 96–8 (1) | KO | 11 (15) | Nov 22, 1969 | For WBA, and WBC middleweight titles | ||
104 | Win | 96–7 (1) | UD | 10 | Sep 23, 1969 | |||
103 | Win | 95–7 (1) | TKO | 2 (10) | Aug 12, 1969 | |||
102 | Win | 94–7 (1) | KO | 7 (10) | Jul 08, 1969 | |||
101 | Win | 93–7 (1) | TKO | 6 (12) | Mar 31, 1969 | |||
100 | Win | 92–7 (1) | TKO | 7 (10) | Feb 20, 1969 | |||
99 | Win | 91–7 (1) | UD | 10 | Jan 21, 1969 | |||
98 | Win | 90–7 (1) | UD | 10 | Nov 15, 1968 | |||
97 | Win | 89–7 (1) | TKO | 4 (10) | Sep 04, 1968 | |||
96 | Win | 88–7 (1) | UD | 10 | Jul 18, 1968 | |||
95 | Loss | 87–7 (1) | UD | 10 | Jun 03, 1968 | |||
94 | Win | 87–6 (1) | UD | 10 | May 05, 1968 | |||
93 | Win | 86–6 (1) | UD | 10 | Mar 26, 1968 | |||
92 | Win | 85–6 (1) | TKO | 6 (10) | Feb 06, 1968 | |||
91 | Win | 84–6 (1) | UD | 10 | Dec 15, 1967 | |||
90 | Win | 83–6 (1) | PTS | 10 | Nov 16, 1967 | |||
89 | Win | 82–6 (1) | TKO | 1 (10) | Nov 06, 1967 | |||
88 | Win | 81–6 (1) | KO | 3 (10) | Sep 29, 1967 | |||
87 | Win | 80–6 (1) | UD | 10 | Sep 07, 1967 | |||
86 | Win | 79–6 (1) | UD | 10 | Jun 28, 1967 | |||
85 | Win | 78–6 (1) | UD | 10 | Jun 04, 1967 | |||
84 | Win | 77–6 (1) | UD | 10 | Mar 20, 1967 | |||
83 | Win | 76–6 (1) | PTS | 10 | Feb 18, 1967 | |||
82 | Win | 75–6 (1) | KO | 8 (10) | Jan 20, 1967 | |||
81 | Win | 74–6 (1) | TKO | 4 (10) | Sep 24, 1966 | |||
80 | Win | 73–6 (1) | KO | 3 (10) | Sep 09, 1966 | |||
79 | Loss | 72–6 (1) | TKO | 15 (15) | Jul 06, 1966 | |||
78 | Win | 72–5 (1) | TKO | 2 (10) | May 07, 1966 | |||
77 | Loss | 71–5 (1) | SD | 10 | Apr 11, 1966 | |||
76 | Win | 71–4 (1) | TKO | 9 (10) | Mar 07, 1966 | |||
75 | Win | 70–4 (1) | TKO | 4 (10) | Jan 25, 1966 | |||
74 | Win | 69–4 (1) | TKO | 9 (10) | Jan 18, 1966 | |||
73 | Win | 68–4 (1) | KO | 4 (10) | Dec 20, 1965 | |||
72 | Win | 67–4 (1) | UD | 10 | Dec 02, 1965 | |||
71 | Win | 66–4 (1) | TKO | 4 (10) | Nov 16, 1965 | |||
70 | Win | 65–4 (1) | TKO | 2 (10) | Oct 04, 1965 | |||
69 | Win | 64–4 (1) | UD | 10 | Aug 26, 1965 | |||
68 | Win | 63–4 (1) | UD | 10 | Aug 03, 1965 | |||
67 | Win | 62–4 (1) | UD | 10 | Jul 26, 1965 | |||
66 | Win | 61–4 (1) | RTD | 3 (10) | Jul 16, 1965 | |||
65 | Win | 60–4 (1) | UD | 10 | Apr 21, 1965 | |||
64 | Win | 59–4 (1) | KO | 10 (10) | Mar 26, 1965 | |||
63 | Win | 58–4 (1) | UD | 10 | Feb 12, 1965 | |||
62 | Win | 57–4 (1) | KO | 2 (10) | Nov 14, 1964 | |||
61 | Loss | 56–4 (1) | SD | 15 | Jun 12, 1964 | For WBA, WBC, and lineal welterweight titles | ||
60 | Win | 56–3 (1) | UD | 10 | Apr 04, 1964 | |||
59 | Win | 55–3 (1) | UD | 10 | Mar 20, 1964 | |||
58 | Win | 54–3 (1) | UD | 10 | Dec 27, 1963 | |||
57 | Win | 53–3 (1) | UD | 10 | Oct 18, 1963 | |||
56 | Win | 52–3 (1) | TKO | 9 (10) | Aug 17, 1963 | |||
55 | Loss | 51–3 (1) | SD | 15 | Jun 08, 1963 | Lost WBA, and WBC welterweight titles | ||
54 | Win | 51–2 (1) | UD | 15 | Mar 21, 1963 | Won WBA, and WBC welterweight titles | ||
53 | Win | 50–2 (1) | UD | 10 | Jan 19, 1963 | |||
52 | Win | 49–2 (1) | UD | 10 | Dec 12, 1962 | |||
51 | Win | 48–2 (1) | TKO | 3 (10) | Nov 06, 1962 | |||
50 | Win | 47–2 (1) | TKO | 7 (10) | Aug 29, 1962 | |||
49 | Win | 46–2 (1) | TKO | 8 (10) | Jun 03, 1962 | |||
48 | Win | 45–2 (1) | TKO | 3 (10) | May 05, 1962 | |||
47 | Win | 44–2 (1) | TKO | 3 (10) | Mar 17, 1962 | |||
46 | Win | 43–2 (1) | UD | 10 | Jan 27, 1962 | |||
45 | Win | 42–2 (1) | UD | 10 | Dec 02, 1961 | |||
44 | Win | 41–2 (1) | TKO | 7 (10) | Oct 24, 1961 | |||
43 | Win | 40–2 (1) | TKO | 5 (10) | Sep 13, 1961 | |||
42 | Loss | 39–2 (1) | SD | 10 | Aug 03, 1961 | |||
41 | Win | 39–1 (1) | KO | 4 (10) | May 13, 1961 | |||
40 | Win | 38–1 (1) | TKO | 5 (10) | Apr 15, 1961 | |||
39 | Win | 37–1 (1) | UD | 10 | Mar 22, 1961 | |||
38 | Win | 36–1 (1) | TKO | 5 (10) | Feb 21, 1961 | |||
37 | Loss | 35–1 (1) | SD | 10 | Dec 17, 1960 | |||
36 | Win | 35–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Nov 28, 1960 | |||
35 | Win | 34–0 (1) | MD | 10 | Nov 16, 1960 | |||
34 | Win | 33–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Oct 24, 1960 | |||
33 | Win | 32–0 (1) | KO | 5 (10) | Aug 17, 1960 | |||
32 | Win | 31–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Jul 06, 1960 | |||
31 | Win | 30–0 (1) | KO | 2 (10) | May 26, 1960 | |||
30 | Win | 29–0 (1) | TKO | 4 (12) | Apr 07, 1960 | |||
29 | Win | 28–0 (1) | UD | 10 | May 02, 1960 | |||
28 | Win | 27–0 (1) | KO | 4 (10) | Feb 10, 1960 | |||
27 | Win | 26–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Dec 23, 1959 | |||
26 | Win | 25–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Oct 21, 1959 | |||
25 | Win | 24–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Oct 03, 1959 | |||
24 | Win | 23–0 (1) | SD | 10 | Aug 26, 1959 | |||
23 | Win | 22–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Jun 17, 1959 | |||
22 | Win | 21–0 (1) | KO | 9 (10) | May 09, 1959 | |||
21 | Win | 20–0 (1) | TKO | 5 (10) | Feb 21, 1959 | |||
20 | Win | 19–0 (1) | PTS | 10 | Nov 22, 1958 | |||
19 | Win | 18–0 (1) | UD | 12 | Sep 20, 1958 | |||
18 | Win | 17–0 (1) | SD | 10 | Aug 09, 1958 | |||
17 | Win | 16–0 (1) | KO | 9 (10) | Jul 26, 1958 | |||
16 | Win | 15–0 (1) | PTS | 10 | Apr 19, 1958 | |||
15 | Win | 14–0 (1) | KO | 4 (10) | Mar 29, 1958 | |||
14 | Win | 13–0 (1) | UD | 10 | Feb 08, 1958 | |||
13 | Win | 12–0 (1) | PTS | 8 | Nov 16, 1957 | |||
12 | Win | 11–0 (1) | PTS | 8 | Sep 28, 1957 | |||
11 | Win | 10–0 (1) | DQ | 6 (8) | Jul 20, 1957 | |||
10 | Win | 9–0 (1) | PTS | 6 | Jun 22, 1957 | |||
9 | Win | 8–0 (1) | PTS | 6 | May 18, 1957 | |||
8 | Win | 7–0 (1) | PTS | 6 | Mar 23, 1957 | |||
7 | Win | 6–0 (1) | PTS | 6 | Feb 16, 1957 | |||
6 | Win | 5–0 (1) | KO | 5 (6) | Jan 12, 1957 | |||
5 | NC | 4–0 (1) | NC | 2 (6) | Dec 15, 1956 | Bout suspended by rain downpour | ||
4 | Win | 4–0 | TKO | 2 (6) | Nov 24, 1956 | |||
3 | Win | 3–0 | PTS | 4 | Oct 20, 1956 | |||
2 | Win | 2–0 | PTS | 4 | Jul 21, 1956 | |||
1 | Win | 1–0 | KO | 3 (4) | Jun 02, 1956 | |||
See also
- List of welterweight boxing champions
References
- "The Lineal Welterweight Champs". Cyber Boxing Zone.
- Luis Manuel Rodriguez. cyberboxingzone.com. Retrieved on April 2, 2016.
- Angelo Dundee To Enter Florida Hall Of Fame. Thesweetscience.com (November 10, 2009). Retrieved on 2016-04-02.
- Luis Rodriguez. www.ibhof.com. Retrieved on April 2, 2016.
- 10: Greatest Cuban boxers of all time – Ring TV. Ringtv.craveonline.com (January 11, 2009). Retrieved on 2016-04-02.
- https://books.google.com/books?id=ILMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=luis+rodriguez+eastern+airlines&source=bl&ots=pYu9Okh0rY&sig=ACfU3U2pI2YmkIVshlDff1Am8X5_sIq3Fw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji6PWvlN3pAhUWGTQIHbYyDQAQ6AEwBHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=luis%20rodriguez%20eastern%20airlines&f=false
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luis Manuel Rodríguez. |
Achievements | ||
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Preceded by Emile Griffith |
WBA Welterweight Champion WBC Welterweight Champion 1963 Mar 21 – 1963 Jun 8 |
Succeeded by Emile Griffith |