Pedro Carrasco
Encyclopedia
Pedro Carrasco is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, July 11, 1943 – January 27, 2001) was a Spanish 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...
whose fame transcended the boxing ring. During the 1970s, he was a media darling in Spain.
Carrasco was crowned Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Lightweight champion in 1967. This triumph was followed four years later, in 1971, with a victory over Mando Ramos
Mando Ramos
Armando Ramos was a Mexican-American professional boxer and the former two-time WBC and WBA Lightweight Champion. He was born in Long Beach, California. Armando "Mando" Ramos was one of the most popular and exciting fighters in Southern California during the 1960s. Ramos was an outstanding amateur...
in Madrid by disqualification in 11 rounds for the WBC
World 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...
's world Lightweight title. The victory was marred by controversy because Carrasco won the title while lying on the canvas: he had been hit in the head by Ramos. The fight's referee expressed confusion as to whether the blow was legal, but he decided to call it an illegal blow and raised Carrasco's hand in signal of victory. Carrasco immediately became a national hero in Spain, as Spain's first-ever world boxing champion.
Carrasco, who was a culturally educated fighter, became a sensation with the media, especially with tabloid magazines, and he started to be seen with Spanish show business stars. His picture appeared on the covers of such magazines as ¡Hola!
¡Hola!
¡Hola! is a weekly Spanish-language magazine specializing in celebrity news, published in Spain and 13 other countries. It also has local editions in Brazil, Canada, Greece, Mexico, Peru, Britain, Russia and Argentina. It is the second most popular magazine in Spain, after the Pronto, the most sold...
many times. He married the singer Rocío Jurado
Rocío Jurado
María del Rocío Trinidad Mohedano Jurado , was a Spanish singer and actress. She was born in Chipiona, Cádiz, Spain and was nicknamed "La más grande" . Jurado was once married to boxer Pedro Carrasco, with whom she had a daughter, Rocío Carrasco...
, with whom he had a daughter, Rocío Carrasco
Rocío Carrasco
Rocío Carrasco Mohedano, informally Rociíto , is a Spanish TV presenter and business woman. She is the daughter of the Spanish singer Rocío Jurado and the Spanish boxer Pedro Carrasco....
. He was also married to Raquel Mosquera for five years.
In 1971, and because of the controversial nature of his world championship win over Ramos, the WBC ordered a rematch, and it was fought in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. There, Ramos beat Carrasco and retook title. They had another rematch, and Ramos beat Carrasco again.
Carrasco's career boxing record was 106-3-2 (66 KOs). After beginning his career 12-1-1, Carrasco had a streak on which he went 92-0-1. The draw came after Carrasco had won 83 consecutive fights. This undefeated streak was longer than Julio César Chávez
Julio César Chávez
Julio César Chávez is a retired Mexican professional boxer.He is a six-time world champion in three weight divisions, and for several years he was considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world...
's (90-0-1). Chávez's streak, however, was from the beginning of the career, and he was 87-0 before the draw.
In 1983, the WBC selected Carrasco in their list of 40 greatest boxers of the last 40 years.