José Cuevas (boxer)

José Isidro "Pipino" Cuevas González (born December 27, 1957 in Santo Tomás de los Plátanos, Mexico) was a Mexican former world champion boxer at the welterweight division.

Pipino Cuevas
Statistics
Real nameJosé Isidro Cuevas González
Nickname(s)Pipino
Weight(s)Welterweight
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Nationality Mexican
Born (1957-12-27) December 27, 1957
Santo Tomás de los Plátanos, Mexico
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights50
Wins35
Wins by KO31
Losses15
Draws0
No contests0

Cuevas was inducted into both the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Cuevas turned professional at age 14; he won only seven of his first twelve bouts but eventually put together an eight bout winning streak before losing to Andy Price. On July 17, 1976, he received a shot at the WBA welterweight title against champion Ángel Espada. Cuevas pulled off an upset victory by knocking Espada to the canvas three times in the second round. At age 18, he was the youngest welterweight champion in history.[1] In his first defense, he traveled to Japan and defeated hometown fighter Shoji Tsujimoto by knockout.

One of the greatest wins of his career was against Argentinian Miguel Angel Campanino, who boasted an impressive record (84-4-4), including a thirty-two fight winning streak. Once again, Pipino disposed of his challenger before the end of the second round.

On June 8, 1977, he faced veteran Clyde Gray who had only been stopped twice in his entire career which included fifty-eight wins. Yet again, Cuevas pulled off another second round knock out. A few months later, Cuevas returned to the ring for a rematch against Espada. This time Cuevas defeated Espada in the eleventh round after he sustained a broken jaw. On March 4, 1978, he disposed of Harold Weston in the ninth round after Weston also sustained a broken jaw like Cuevas' previous challenger. Cuevas then defeated former champion Billy Backus in one round. On September 9, 1978, he defeated hometown favorite Pete Ranzany (40-2-1) in Sacramento, California via a second-round knockout. He defeated Scott Clark (28-1-0) in another second-round knockout. Cuevas next title defense went the distance in a unanimous decision win against the durable Randy Shields (33-5-1). On December 8, 1979, he faced Espada for a third time, stopping him in the tenth round. Cuevas then defeated South African national champion Harold Volbrecht by fifth-round knockout.

Loss of Title

Cuevas finally lost his title in 1980 to the undefeated and up-and-coming hometown hero Thomas Hearns in Detroit. The much taller and lankier Hearns was able to use his reach to his advantage as he kept Cuevas at a distance and knocked him out in the second round. Cuevas' talent began to decline after that loss; the most notable opponent he faced was Roberto Durán, who stopped him in the fourth round in the spring of 1983. He also lost to former world title challenger Jun Sok-Hwang and future or former world champions Jorge Vaca and Lupe Aquino before finally retiring in 1989.

Pipino Cuevas fought during a period when an unusual number of accomplished welterweights were active: Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benítez, Carlos Palomino, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Durán, although his reign had nearly come to an end as Leonard, Benítez, Hearns, and Durán emerged as welterweight champions. Cuevas successfully defended his welterweight title eleven times against ten different boxers over a four-year span. During his reign as champion, Cuevas fought the best opposition available to him. In total, the opponents he faced throughout his career had a combined record of 505-70-29.[2][3] In 2003, The Ring listed Cuevas as number thirty-one on their list of the 100 greatest punchers of all-time. In 2002, Cuevas became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Retirement

Cuevas is the owner of a restaurant and a security company in Mexico City. At one point of his career, he was also the owner of a famous sports and luxury car collection, and he was one of the first boxers to sport a golden tooth. Most people probably know him for his nickname Pipino, which is far more used to refer to him than Jose by fight commentators and magazine writers.

He ran into trouble with the law in 2001 when he was accused of racketeering in Mexico, in connection with a Mexican mayor. But he was declared innocent in 2002.

His record as a boxer was of 35 wins and 15 losses, with 31 wins by knockout.

Professional boxing record
35 Wins (31 knockouts, 4 decisions), 15 Losses (6 knockouts, 9 decisions)
Res. Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 35–15 Lupe Aquino KO 2 (10) 1989-09-25 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 35–14 Martín Martínez KO 1 (10) 1989-07-31 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 34–14 Francisco Carballo KO 4 (10) 1989-05-29 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 33–14 Daniel Valenzuela KO 6 (10) 1987-07-25 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 32–14 Jorge Vaca KO 2 (10) 1986-12-19 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Loss 32–13 Lorenzo Luis García MD 10 1986-10-04 Salta, Salta, Argentina
Win 32–12 Luis Mateo TKO 3 (10) 1986-07-25 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Loss 31–12 Steve Little MD 10 1986-03-03 Sacramento, California, United States
Win 31–11 Felipe Vaca UD 4 1986-02-25 Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
Loss 30–11 Herman Montes KO 3 (10) 1985-03-07 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 30–10 Jun-Suk Hwang MD 10 1984-07-12 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 30–9 Mauricio Bravo TKO 1 (10) 1984-03-01 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 29–9 Roberto Durán TKO 4 (12) 1983-01-29 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 29–8 Roger Stafford UD 10 1981-11-07 Hacienda Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 1981 Upset of the Year - The Ring Magazine
Win 29–7 Jørgen Hansen TKO 1 (10) 1981-06-25 Astrodome, Houston, Texas, United States
Win 28–7 Bernardo Prada KO 2 (10) 1981-02-07 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 27–7 Thomas Hearns TKO 2 (15) 1980-08-02 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States Lost WBA World Welterweight title
Win 27–6 Harold Volbrecht KO 5 (15) 1980-04-06 Astro Arena, Houston, Texas, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 26–6 Ángel Espada TKO 10 (15) 1979-12-08 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 25–6 Randy Shields UD 15 1979-07-30 International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 24–6 Scott Clark TKO 2 (15) 1979-01-29 Forum, Inglewood, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 23–6 Pete Ranzany TKO 2 (15) 1978-09-09 Hughes Arena, Sacramento, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 22–6 Billy Backus TKO 2 (15) 1978-05-20 Forum, Inglewood, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 21–6 Harold Weston TKO 9 (15) 1978-03-04 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 20–6 Ángel Espada TKO 12 (15) 1977-11-19 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 19–6 Clyde Gray KO 2 (15) 1977-08-06 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 18–6 Miguel Ángel Campanino KO 2 (15) 1977-03-12 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 17–6 Shoji Tsujimoto KO 6 (15) 1976-10-27 Jissen Rinri Hall, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 16–6 Ángel Espada TKO 2 (15) 1976-07-17 Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico Won WBA World Welterweight title
Loss 15–6 Andy Price UD 10 1976-06-02 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 15–5 Rafael Piamonte KO 1 (10) 1976-04-03 Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
Win 14–5 José Palacios KO 10 (12) 1975-09-27 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Won Mexico Welterweight title
Win 13–5 Carlos Obregón UD 10 1975-07-12 Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 12–5 Rubén Vázquez Zamora UD 10 1975-01-25 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 11–5 Sammy García KO 3 (10) 1974-10-26 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 10–5 José Luis Pena KO 1 (10) 1974-08-21 Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 9–5 Sugar Sanders TKO 1 (10) 1974-06-12 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 8–5 Salvador Ruvalcaba KO 1 (10) 1974-05-11 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 7–5 Eleazar Delgado MD 10 1973-11-24 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 7–4 Octavio Amparan TKO 7 (10) 1973-10-06 Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 6–4 José Figueroa TKO 3 (10) 1973-08-04 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 5–4 Memo Cruz UD 10 1973-05-13 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 5–3 Sergio Alejo KO 4 (8) 1973-03-01 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 4–3 Raúl Martínez KO 1 (8) 1972-12-07 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 3–3 Juan Pablo Oropeza MD 8 1972-08-19 Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
Win 3–2 Pancho Benítez TKO 2 (8) 1972-06-22 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 2–2 Rielero Rodríguez TKO 2 (6) 1972-05-24 Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
Loss 1–2 Mario Roman MD 6 1972-03-04 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 1–1 José Arias TKO 4 (6) 1972-01-01 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 0–1 Alfredo Castro KO 2 (4) 1971-11-14 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Cuevas's professional debut.

See also
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ángel Espada		 WBA Welterweight Champion
July 17, 1976 - August 2, 1980		 Succeeded by
Thomas Hearns

References
  1. https://www.ringtv.com/179731-10-best-left-hookers/9/
  2. Remembering the Career of Pipino Cuevas Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
  3. HBO: Boxing: Features: Best Of: THE BEST WELTERWEIGHT PUNCHERS EVER
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.