Rodrigo Valdez
Encyclopedia
Rodrigo Valdéz is a former boxer
from Colombia
who was a two-time world middleweight champion and former undisputed middleweight champion of the world 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.
, Rodrigo Valdéz 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.
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.
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 only the second 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.
, 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.
Valdez had a record of 63 wins, eight losses and two draws as a professional boxer, with 42 wins by knockout.
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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...
from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
who was a two-time world middleweight champion and former undisputed middleweight champion of the world whose rivalry with Carlos Monzón
Carlos Monzón
Carlos Monzón was an Argentine professional boxer who held the undisputed world middleweight title for 7 years, during which he successfully defended the title 14 times....
has long been considered among the most legendary boxing rivalries. Valdez was trained by International Boxing Hall of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
coach Gil Clancy
Gil Clancy
Gilbert Thomas "Gil" Clancy was a Hall of Fame boxing trainer and one of the most noted boxing commentators of the 1980s and 1990s. He worked with such famous boxers as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman, as well as Gerry Cooney in his fight with Foreman. In the 1990s, he worked with...
. Many people consider him, Antonio Cervantes
Antonio Cervantes
Antonio Cervantes aka Kid Pambelé is a Colombian boxing trainer and former two time world Jr. Welterweight champion. He successfully defended the title 16 times. Cervantes fought 21 world title fights, keeping the 140 pounds title for almost 8 years...
and Miguel "Happy" Lora to be the three greatest boxers ever to come from that country.
- 29 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time
Professional career
Born in Bolívar, ColombiaBolívar Department
Bolívar is a department of Colombia. It was named after one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia. It is located to the north of the country, extending from the coast at Cartagena near the mouth of the Magdalena River, then south along the river to a border with Antioquia.Its...
, Rodrigo Valdéz began his professional boxing career with a win over Orlando Pineda in a four-round decision on October 25, 1963, at Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
. He won his next eight bouts, but on October 2, 1965, he lost his undefeated record, beaten by 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 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
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, 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
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...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 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 GardenMadison 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...
in New York City, with Bobby Cassidy
Bobby Cassidy
Bobby Cassidy, born April 19, 1944, is a former professional boxer who fought from 1963 to 1980. Although born and raised in New York, Cassidy is of Irish lineage and fought under the name, "Irish" 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
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
. 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
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
legend Bennie Briscoe
Bennie Briscoe
"Bad" Bennie Briscoe was the quintessential Philadelphia boxer."Bad" Bennie fought from 1962 to 1982, and retired with a career record of 66 wins 24 losses and 5 draws. Briscoe was a top-rated Middleweight contender during the 1970s, unsuccessfully challenging for the World Title on three...
for the NABF middleweight title, in Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, 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 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...
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
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
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
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, 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 only the second man to send the Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
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.
First 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'ItaliaCampione d'Italia
Campione d'Italia is an Italian comune of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region, occupying an enclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino, separated from the rest of Italy by Lake Lugano and mountains...
, 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
Hugo Corro
Hugo Pastor Corro , better known plainly as Hugo Corro, was a former boxer from Argentina who was world Middleweight champion....
, in San Remo
Sanremo
Sanremo or San Remo is a city with about 57,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. Founded in Roman times, the city is best known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as the Sanremo Music Festival...
, Italy.
On November 11 of that same year, they had a rematch, at Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
' Luna Park Stadium
Luna Park, Buenos Aires
For any of the amusement parks of the same name, see Luna Park; for any other use of the term, see Luna Park Luna Park is an 8,000-seat arena, located on the corner of Corrientes and Bouchard Avenues, in the barrio of San Nicolás, east Buenos Aires city and near Puerto Madero...
, and Corro repeated his 15-round victory to retain the world title.
Final 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.
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