Alfredo Escalera
Encyclopedia
Alfredo Escalera is a Puerto Rican
who was a world champion boxer
. A native of Carolina
, his nickname was "Salsero" because he was a fan of Salsa music
.
. He won by a knockout
in round four. He would suffer his first defeat in his third fight, when faced against Doug McClendon, who beat him by a decision in six rounds on January 26, 1971, in New York
. He won five bouts in a row, and then lost by decision in eight rounds to future world title challenger Edwin Viruet
.
He began 1972 by losing to another future world title challenger, Diego Alcala, by knockout in round eight, but he won his three other fights that year.
In 1973, he began, once again, by losing to another future world title challenger, Miguel Montilla, by a decision in ten rounds. Before the year was over, however, he was able to avenge that defeat, defeating Montilla by a knockout in round eight, and he won seven of his eight other fights that year.
By 1974, he began climbing up the super featherweight
rankings, going 8-2 that year. He beat his own future world title challenger Sigfredo Rodriguez by a knockout in round one, and former world champion Ricardo Arredondo
by a disqualification in round eight.
super featherweight champion Kuniaki Shibata
in Mito, knocking Shibata out in round two to become the WBC super featherweight champion.
Escalera became a house-hold name in Puerto Rico during his tenure as world champion. He appeared in television commercials and was a popular public figure.
He defended his title ten times, including wins over Ray Lunny, Sigfredo Rodriguez and Tyrone Everrett.
He lost his title on January 28, 1978, to Alexis Argüello
of Nicaragua
by a knockout in round 13 in Bayamón
. In this fight, Escalera suffered a broken nose and tooth, a cut on his tongue and above his left eye, and a closed right eye before submitting to Argüello. The first Arguello-Escalera encounter has been dubbed as "The Bloody Battle of Bayamon
".
, and Escalera held a small lead on the judges' cards after 12 rounds. However, he was knocked out in round 13 by Argüello. Shortly after drawing with Antonio Cruz in ten rounds in October of that year, he announced his retirement.
In 1980, Escalera dedicated himself to the sport of professional wrestling
, competing on the Puerto Rican professional wrestling circuit. However, in 1981, he launched a boxing comeback. He lost to future world light welterweight
champion Gene Hatcher
in San Antonio
, but he beat former world title challenger Maurice Termite Watkins
at "The Battle of the Champions'
" undercard in Miami
, to complete his 1982 boxing campaign.
In 1983, he avenged his loss to Hatcher, dropping him in round six and scoring a ten round unanimous decision win at the Roberto Durán
-Davey Moore
world title fight undercard in Madison Square Garden
. On September 15 of that year he lost to future world title challenger Charlie White Lighting Brown.
Escalera now enjoys the fruits of his career in his farm in Puerto Rico. His son, Alfredo Escalera Jr., is currently a boxer who is based in Florida
.
signer left a boxing record of 53 wins, 14 losses and 3 draws, with 31 wins by knockout. His two fights with Argüello are considered by many to be boxing classics, Argüello-Escalera I making The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest fights of all time at number 31, and Argüello-Escalera II making it at number 68.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
who was a world champion boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. A native of Carolina
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...
, his nickname was "Salsero" because he was a fan of Salsa music
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
.
Early boxing career
Escalera had his first professional bout on September 4, 1970, against Bob Payzant, in PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. He won by a knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in round four. He would suffer his first defeat in his third fight, when faced against Doug McClendon, who beat him by a decision in six rounds on January 26, 1971, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He won five bouts in a row, and then lost by decision in eight rounds to future world title challenger Edwin Viruet
Edwin Viruet
Edwin Viruet is a retired boxer from Puerto Rico. His brother Adolfo was also a professional boxer.Viruet made his professional debut in 1969...
.
He began 1972 by losing to another future world title challenger, Diego Alcala, by knockout in round eight, but he won his three other fights that year.
In 1973, he began, once again, by losing to another future world title challenger, Miguel Montilla, by a decision in ten rounds. Before the year was over, however, he was able to avenge that defeat, defeating Montilla by a knockout in round eight, and he won seven of his eight other fights that year.
By 1974, he began climbing up the super featherweight
Super Featherweight
Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms....
rankings, going 8-2 that year. He beat his own future world title challenger Sigfredo Rodriguez by a knockout in round one, and former world champion Ricardo Arredondo
Ricardo Arredondo
Ricardo Arredondo was a Mexican professional boxer. A former WBC Super Featherweight champion, he was the brother of two-time World Light Welterweight champion, Rene Arredondo.-Pro career:...
by a disqualification in round eight.
Champion
On July 4, 1975, he fought the WBCWorld Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
super featherweight champion Kuniaki Shibata
Kuniaki Shibata
Kuniaki Shibata is a former Japanese professional boxer. He is a former WBC and WBA super featherweight champion.- Biography :...
in Mito, knocking Shibata out in round two to become the WBC super featherweight champion.
Escalera became a house-hold name in Puerto Rico during his tenure as world champion. He appeared in television commercials and was a popular public figure.
He defended his title ten times, including wins over Ray Lunny, Sigfredo Rodriguez and Tyrone Everrett.
He lost his title on January 28, 1978, to Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello , also known by the stage name El Flaco Explosivo , was a Nicaraguan professional boxer and politician...
of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
by a knockout in round 13 in Bayamón
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...
. In this fight, Escalera suffered a broken nose and tooth, a cut on his tongue and above his left eye, and a closed right eye before submitting to Argüello. The first Arguello-Escalera encounter has been dubbed as "The Bloody Battle of Bayamon
The Bloody Battle of Bayamon
The Bloody Battle of Bayamón was a boxing fight held on January 28, 1978 at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, between defending WBC world Jr. Lightweight champion Alfredo Escalera, and former WBA world Featherweight champion Alexis Argüello of Nicaragua...
".
Post-championship career
Escalera and Argüello had a rematch, on February 4, 1979, in RiminiRimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
, and Escalera held a small lead on the judges' cards after 12 rounds. However, he was knocked out in round 13 by Argüello. Shortly after drawing with Antonio Cruz in ten rounds in October of that year, he announced his retirement.
In 1980, Escalera dedicated himself to the sport of professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, competing on the Puerto Rican professional wrestling circuit. However, in 1981, he launched a boxing comeback. He lost to future world light welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
champion Gene Hatcher
Gene Hatcher
Ronald Hatcher Jr. , better known as "Gene Hatcher," is a former boxer who was world light welterweight champion. His nickname was "Mad Dog."-Amateur career:Hatcher was a United States Amateur Champion...
in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, but he beat former world title challenger Maurice Termite Watkins
Maurice Watkins
Maurice Watkins is a former boxer from Houston, Texas. Nicknamed Termite, he was born into a family that was in the insect killing business, and he is a professional fumigator.-Professional Boxing Career:...
at "The Battle of the Champions'
The Battle of the Champions
The Battle of the Champions, was a term used by promoter Bob Arum regarding the November 12, 1982 boxing match between Aaron Pryor and Alexis Argüello.-The Fighters:...
" undercard in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, to complete his 1982 boxing campaign.
In 1983, he avenged his loss to Hatcher, dropping him in round six and scoring a ten round unanimous decision win at the Roberto Durán
Roberto Durán
Roberto Durán Samaniego is a retired professional boxer from Panama, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" during his career....
-Davey Moore
Davey Moore (1980s)
Davey Moore was an American world champion boxer, the second of two boxers who shared the name in the late 20th century, and whose respective careers each ended with death by trauma around the age of thirty....
world title fight undercard in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
. On September 15 of that year he lost to future world title challenger Charlie White Lighting Brown.
Retirement
After the Brown fight, Escalera announced his retirement from boxing once again. Shortly after, it was discovered that he had eyesight problems and had been fighting almost blinded for his last few fights.Escalera now enjoys the fruits of his career in his farm in Puerto Rico. His son, Alfredo Escalera Jr., is currently a boxer who is based in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Legacy
The avid autographAutograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
signer left a boxing record of 53 wins, 14 losses and 3 draws, with 31 wins by knockout. His two fights with Argüello are considered by many to be boxing classics, Argüello-Escalera I making The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest fights of all time at number 31, and Argüello-Escalera II making it at number 68.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions