Rodrigo Valdéz

Rodrigo Valdéz (February 22, 1946 – March 15, 2017) was a Colombian boxer who was the undisputed world middleweight champion,[1] whose rivalry with Carlos Monzón has long been considered among the most legendary boxing rivalries. Valdez was trained by International Boxing Hall of Fame coach Gil Clancy. Many people consider him, Antonio Cervantes and Miguel "Happy" Lora to be the three greatest boxers ever to come from that country. He is 29th on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Rodrigo Valdéz
Statistics
Real nameRodrigo Valdéz
Nickname(s)Rocky
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height5 ft 9.5 in (177 cm)
Reach175 cm (69 in)
NationalityColombian
Born(1946-02-22)February 22, 1946
Cartagena, Colombia
DiedMarch 15, 2017(2017-03-15) (aged 71)
Cartagena, Colombia
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights73
Wins63
Wins by KO42
Losses8
Draws2
No contests0

Professional career

Born in Bolívar, Colombia, Rodrigo Valdez began his professional boxing career with a win over Orlando Pineda in a four-round decision on October 25, 1963, at Cartagena. He won his next eight bouts, but on October 2, 1965, he lost his undefeated record, beaten by knockout in six by Rudy Escobar.

After that defeat, he went on another undefeated streak of fifteen fights, of which he won thirteen and tied two. However, on his first fight abroad, February 16, 1969, in Ecuador, he lost a ten-round decision to Daniel Guanin. After one more fight in Cartagena, he moved to the United States. Trying to gain more recognition, he campaigned, from 1969 to 1970, in the states of New York, Nevada and California, winning seven fights and losing two. Then, he returned to South America for four more fights in his homeland, winning all.

Hepatitis

In his next match, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, with Bobby Cassidy on August 9, 1971, Valdez won by knockout in round six, because the fight doctor deemed Cassidy not fit to continue from a cut around his eye which had been ruled as produced by a Valdez punch. At the time, nobody knew that Cassidy had hepatitis A. As a consequence of this, Valdez also became affected by the disease. Given a quarantine, he refused to quit boxing periodically and continued training during his time of illness. Separated from most of the world, he was fit enough to win two more fights within three months of his initial diagnosis of hepatitis.

Valdez had nineteen wins in a row when he met Philadelphia legend Bennie Briscoe for the NABF middleweight title, in Nouméa, New Caledonia, on September 1, 1973, beating Briscoe in a 12-round decision to capture the regional championship and becoming a world-ranked middleweight contender. After this win, Valdez claimed for a world title shot at Monzon.

World title

He won two more fights, and the WBC made him its number one contender at Monzon's title. But Monzon did not feel like fighting the Colombian at that moment, so the WBC stripped Monzon of the world title (Monzon retained the WBA title) and made Valdez and Briscoe rematch, this time with the WBC world middleweight title on the line. On May 25, 1974, at Monte Carlo, Valdez became a world champion for the first time, by knocking Briscoe out in seven rounds. Valdez subsequently retained his title against Rudy Valdez, Gratien Tonna and Max Cohen, until Monzon finally agreed to meet him.

One week before the long-awaited match-up, on June 19, 1976, Valdez's brother was murdered during a barroom fight in Colombia. Already in Monte Carlo for the fight, Valdez wanted to pull out of it to join his family in mourning. But he was contractually bound to fight Monzon, so he had to stay in Europe, and on June 26, Valdez, who to many observers seemed rather uninterested, lost in the unification bout to Monzon in a 15-round unanimous decision. Valdez won two more fights after returning to Colombia.

The WBA and WBC, recognizing that Valdez probably wasn't in the best of moods to fight during his first confrontation with Monzon, ordered a second fight between the rivals, and so they fought again, on July 30, 1977, once again at Monte Carlo. This time around, Valdez knocked down Monzon in the second round, becoming the only man to send the Argentine to the floor in Monzon's long career. Valdez was leading after seven rounds, but Monzon mounted a late rally that allowed him to keep the title by a close decision.

Monzon's retirement

Monzon announced his retirement from boxing afterwards, and so Valdez and Briscoe were matched once again, on November 5, 1977, for the vacant undisputed world middleweight championship, in Campione d'Italia, which belonged back then not to Italy, but actually to Switzerland. Valdez recovered the world middleweight championship, with a 15-round decision over Briscoe. This time around, however, he would lose his title on his first defense, on April 22, 1978, by points in 15 rounds to another Argentine, Hugo Corro, in San Remo, Italy.

On November 11 of that same year, they had a rematch, at Buenos Aires' Luna Park Stadium, and Corro repeated his 15-round victory to retain the world title.

Retirement

Valdez fought only twice more, winning both fights by knockout. After beating Gilberto Amonte on November 28, 1980, in the first round, he retired from boxing for good.

Valdez had a record of 63 wins, eight losses and two draws as a professional boxer, with 42 wins by knockout.

Death

According to Colombian sources, Valdez died of a massive heart attack on March 14, 2017.[2] Cartagena mayor Manuel Duque confirmed the two time former world champion's death, calling him "one of the greatest Colombian sportsmen of all time".[3]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
73 fights 63 wins 8 losses
By knockout 42 1
By decision 21 7
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
73 Win 63–8–2 Gilberto Almonte TKO 1 (10), 1:41 Nov 28, 1980 Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
72 Win 62–8–2 Charles Hayward TKO 7 (10), 1:25 May 14, 1980 Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
71 Loss 61–8–2 Hugo Corro UD 15 Nov 11, 1978 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina For WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
70 Win 61–7–2 Mayfield Pennington TKO 7 (10), 1:22 Sep 30, 1978 Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
69 Loss 60–7–2 Hugo Corro UD 15 Apr 22, 1978 Teatro Ariston, Sanremo, Liguria, Italy Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
68 Win 60–6–2 Bennie Briscoe UD 15 Nov 5, 1977 Campione d'Italia, Lombardy, Italy Won vacant WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
67 Loss 59–6–2 Carlos Monzón UD 15 Jul 30, 1977 Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monaco For WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
66 Win 59–5–2 Oreste Lebron TKO 5 (10) Mar 19, 1977 Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
65 Win 58–5–2 Ramon Beras KO 7 (10) Oct 24, 1976 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
64 Loss 57–5–2 Carlos Monzón UD 15 Jun 26, 1976 Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monaco Lost WBC middleweight title
63 Win 57–4–2 Nessim Max Cohen TKO 4 (15), 2:45 Mar 28, 1976 Pavillon de Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, France Retained WBC middleweight title
62 Win 56–4–2 Rudy Robles UD 15 Aug 16, 1975 Cartagena de Indias Bull Ring, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia Retained WBC middleweight title
61 Win 55–4–2 Ramón Mendez TKO 8 (15) May 31, 1975 Coliseo El Pueblo, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia Retained WBC middleweight title
60 Win 54–4–2 Gratien Tonna KO 11 (15) Nov 30, 1974 Palais des Expositions, Paris, Île-de-France, France Retained WBC middleweight title
59 Win 53–4–2 Vinnie Curto UD 10 Oct 25, 1974 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Non-title bout
58 Win 52–4–2 Cubby Jackson KO 2 (10) Sep 7, 1974 Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia Non-title bout
57 Win 51–4–2 Bennie Briscoe TKO 7 (15), 2:55 May 25, 1974 Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monaco Won vacant WBC middleweight title
56 Win 50–4–2 Ernie Burns KO 2 (10) Mar 16, 1974 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
55 Win 49–4–2 Joey Durelle KO 2 (10) Dec 14, 1973 Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
54 Win 48–4–2 Bennie Briscoe PTS 12 Sep 1, 1973 Nouméa, South Province, New Caledonia Won NABF middleweight title
53 Win 47–4–2 Antonio Aguilar PTS 10 Jul 19, 1973 Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
52 Win 46–4–2 Leon Washington KO 9 (10) Jun 5, 1973 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
51 Win 45–4–2 Kim Booker TKO 5 (10), 2:12 Apr 16, 1973 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
50 Win 44–4–2 José Rodríguez TKO 5 (10) Mar 5, 1973 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
49 Win 43–4–2 Carlos Marks PTS 10 Dec 18, 1972 Parc des Expositions, Paris, Île-de-France, France
48 Win 42–4–2 Lloyd Duncan UD 10 Sep 29, 1972 Sunnyside Gardens, New York City, New York, U.S.
47 Win 41–4–2 Roy Edmonds KO 2 (10), 1:11 Aug 28, 1972 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
46 Win 40–4–2 Juan Evangelista Córdoba KO 6 (?) Aug 10, 1972 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
45 Win 39–4–2 Milton Mendez KO 2 (?) Apr 2, 1972 Valledupar, Cesar, Colombia
44 Win 38–4–2 Doc Holliday TKO 4 (10), 2:38 Nov 25, 1971 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S. Fought while quarantined with Hepatitis
43 Win 37–4–2 Perry Abney TKO 1 (10), 2:59 Oct 19, 1971 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S. Fought while quarantined with Hepatitis
42 Win 36–4–2 Bobby Cassidy TKO 7 (10), 0:44 Aug 9, 1971 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Cassidy did not know he had Hepatitis,
Valdez later developed the disease
41 Win 35–4–2 Edmundo Leite TKO 4 (10) Jun 28, 1971 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
40 Win 34–4–2 Marcos Tordoya TKO 4 (10) May 14, 1971 Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
39 Win 33–4–2 Arturo Lang KO 5 (?), 2:59 Mar 26, 1971 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
38 Win 32–4–2 Juan Jimenez KO 2 (10) Jan 24, 1971 Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
37 Win 31–4–2 Juan Evangelista Córdoba TKO 9 (?) Jul 24, 1970 Atanasio Girardot Coliseum, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
36 Loss 30–4–2 Ralph Palladin SD 10 May 11, 1970 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
35 Win 30–3–2 Cassius Greene PTS 10 May 1, 1970 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
34 Loss 29–3–2 Pete Toro MD 10 Mar 2, 1970 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
33 Win 29–2–2 Dave Oropeza KO 1 (10), 1:29 Feb 14, 1970 The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
32 Win 28–2–2 Denny Stiletto TKO 1 (10) Dec 10, 1969 Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
31 Win 27–2–2 Raul Rodríguez TKO 9 (10) Oct 17, 1969 The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
30 Win 26–2–2 David Melendez TKO 5 (10), 2:08 Sep 17, 1969 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
29 Win 25–2–2 Mike DeFeo TKO 1 (10), 1:27 Sep 3, 1969 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
28 Win 24–2–2 Peter Cobblah UD 10 Aug 6, 1969 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
27 Win 23–2–2 Linfer Contreras KO 2 (?) Jun 4, 1969 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
26 Loss 22–2–2 Daniel Guanin PTS 10 Feb 16, 1969 Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
25 Win 22–1–2 Humberto Trottman PTS 10 Aug 6, 1968 Bogotá, Colombia
24 Win 21–1–2 Cartagenita Kid KO 7 (?) Apr 15, 1968 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
23 Draw 20–1–2 German Gastelbondo PTS 10 Jan 21, 1968 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
22 Win 20–1–1 Richard Morales KO 2 (?) Dec 3, 1967 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
21 Win 19–1–1 Humberto Trottman PTS 10 Oct 1, 1967 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
20 Win 18–1–1 Alfonso Franco KO 12 (12) Aug 29, 1967 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
19 Win 17–1–1 Baby Mendez KO 3 (?) Aug 12, 1967 El Carmen, Colombia
18 Win 16–1–1 Kid Revolledo PTS 10 Jun 10, 1967 Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia
17 Draw 15–1–1 Mario Rossito PTS 10 Apr 2, 1967 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
16 Win 15–1 Eugenio Espinoza PTS 10 Mar 5, 1967 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
15 Win 14–1 Julio Novella KO 2 (10) Jan 23, 1967 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
14 Win 13–1 Alfonso Franco KO 7 (10) Nov 4, 1966 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
13 Win 12–1 Elias Lian PTS 10 Jul 29, 1966 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
12 Win 11–1 Lucero Acary KO 2 (?) Jun 29, 1966 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
11 Win 10–1 Roberto Ulloa PTS 10 Jun 24, 1966 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
10 Win 9–1 Rafael Luna UD 10 Mar 3, 1966 Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
9 Loss 8–1 Juan Escobar TKO 6 (8), 3:00 Oct 2, 1965 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
8 Win 8–0 Elias Hidalgo KO 6 (?) Jul 9, 1964 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
7 Win 7–0 Manuel Jack Hernandez PTS 10 Sep 12, 1964 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
6 Win 6–0 Fernando Alvarez TKO 8 (10) May 15, 1964 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
5 Win 5–0 Alejandro Parra PTS 8 Feb 28, 1964 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
4 Win 4–0 Humberto Hurtado PTS 6 Feb 6, 1964 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
3 Win 3–0 Alejandro Parra KO 5 (?) Jan 15, 1964 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
2 Win 2–0 Eliecer de Avila KO 4 (?) Nov 6, 1963 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
1 Win 1–0 Orlando Pineda PTS 4 Oct 25, 1963 Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
gollark: Antidisestablishmentarianism Band Reification.
gollark: Only because ABR isn't here.
gollark: ++delete <@151391317740486657>
gollark: Wrong.
gollark: Python convention is snake case.

See also

References
  1. "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. http://www.boxingscene.com/rodrigo-valdez-former-world-champion-passes-away-70--114659
  3. http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/18913056/former-middleweight-boxing-champ-rodrigo-valdez-dies
Achievements
Vacant
Title last held by
Carlos Monzon		 WBC Middleweight Champion
May 25, 1974 – Jun 26, 1976		 Succeeded by
Carlos Monzon
WBC Middleweight Champion
November 5, 1977 – April 22, 1978		 Succeeded by
Hugo Pastor Corro
WBA Middleweight Champion
November 5, 1977 – April 22, 1978
The Ring Middleweight Champion
November 5, 1977 – April 22, 1978
Lineal Middleweight Champion
November 5, 1977 – April 22, 1978
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