Vicente Rondón

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Vicente Rondón
Statistics
Real nameVicente Paul Rondón
Nickname(s)El Muchachote de Barlovento
Weight(s)Light heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
NationalityVenezuelan
Born(1938-07-29)July 29, 1938
San José de Río Chico, Miranda, Venezuela
DiedDecember 28, 1992(1992-12-28) (aged 54)
Caracas, Miranda, Venezuela
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights57
Wins39
Wins by KO22
Losses15
Draws1
No contests2

Vicente Paúl Rondón (July 29, 1938 – December 28, 1992) was a Venezuelan professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1974, holding the WBA light heavyweight title from 1971 to 1972.

Personal background[]

Rondón was born into extreme poverty in San José de Río Chico, Miranda, Venezuela, and decided to escape his poor surroundings by enlisting in the Venezuelan military at an early age.

Professional career[]

When Rondón turned professional, his year of birth was listed as 1944; in fact it was 1938. Rondón began fighting as a middleweight and made a name for himself with upset victories over former world welterweight champion Luis Rodríguez and middleweight contender Bennie Briscoe. However, Rondon was growing and quickly established himself as a top rated light heavyweight with impressive wins over Roger Rouse, Eddie Talhami, and Allen Thomas. World Light heavyweight Champion Bob Foster did not seem eager to fight the #2 ranked Rondón or the #1 rated Jimmy Dupree. The WBA stripped Foster of his title and matched Rondón and Dupree.

In an exciting slugfest, Rondón climbed off the canvas in the second round to stop the favored Dupree at 2:58 of the 6th round. At the time of the stoppage, referee Zack Clayton had the fight scored even at 47–47. Judge Dimas Hernandez also scored the bout 47–47, and judge Gustavo Vargas favored Rondón, 48–47. Following the fight, a controversy broke out with Dupree claiming he was drugged. The United Press International published a story of the claim. In the UPI article, Charliese Smith, a registered nurse and friend of Dupree said, "I believe Jimmy was drugged. I saw Jimmy after the fight and he was very very weak. His vision was blurry and he couldn't even see the other side of the room." She went on to say, "I know of muscle relaxants that can be administered in food and I'm convinced that Jimmy was given something." Regardless of the charges, the World Boxing Association recognized Rondón as world champion, while The Ring magazine viewed Bob Foster as the legitimate Light heavyweight king.

1971 was an outstanding year for Rondón with a number of title defenses. He became the first and only fighter to stop Gomeo Brennan. Many experts felt that Rondón could and would defeat Bob Foster. Rondon flopped badly against Foster in 1972; being destroyed in two rounds. A venture into the heavyweight ranks proved just as bad, as he was beaten by Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle and José Urtain. Rondón did better in 1973 as he started to trim down in weight. He looked highly skilled and impressive by scoring a 10 round decision over undefeated prospect Oliver Wright on Miami Beach. Shortly after, he stopped heavyweight Mike "Jim" Boswell in four rounds.

Sadly, Rondón's private life was full of demons. He was developing a drinking problem and spending money like it was going out of style. An attempt to regain the light heavyweight title, saw him drop a decision to number 1 rated Len Hutchins, and then suffer a 9th round technical knockout to John Conteh. In 1974, Rondón, weighing 188 pounds, went back to the heavyweight division, where he would be largely unsuccessful. He was unable to get off the stool for round three in his fight with Rodney Bobick at Miami Beach, Florida. In his next fight he was knocked out in two rounds by former world heavyweight title contender José Roman.

Life after boxing[]

Shortly thereafter Rondón's career hit the skids and so did he. He was confined to a mental hospital, and later arrested on charges of robbing a store for $150. Rondon served a prison sentence, and there are unconfirmed reports that he boxed some exhibitions or possibly a professional match while incarcerated[citation needed]. Rondón was released from prison a physical wreck. Vicente Paul Rondón, the boxing idol of his country, died forgotten, broke and in poverty in Santa Ana de Carapita, a slum of Caracas. Rondón had been living with his elderly mother at the time. He was 54 when he died.

Professional boxing record[]

39 Wins (22 knockouts), 15 Losses (7 knockouts), 1 Draw, 2 No Contests[1]
Res. Record Opponent Type Round
Time
Date Location Notes
Loss 39–15–1
2 NC
Puerto Rico José Roman TKO 2 (10) 1974–06–06 United States Curtis Hixon Hall,
Tampa, Florida
Loss 39–14–1
2 NC
United States Rodney Bobick TKO 3 (10) 1974–02–19 United States Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Loss 39–13–1
2 NC
Germany Rudiger Schmidtke PTS 10 1973–11–17 Germany Frankfurt, Hesse
Loss 39–12–1
2 NC
United Kingdom John Conteh TKO 9 (10) 1973–09–10 United Kingdom Empire Pool, London
Win 39–11–1
2 NC
United States Mike Boswell TKO 4 (10) 1973–08–24 United States Indianapolis
Loss 38–11–1
2 NC
Denmark Tom Bogs PTS 10 1973–06–14 Denmark K.B. Hallen,
Copenhagen, Capital Region
Loss 38–10–1
2 NC
United States Len Hutchins PTS 10 1973–05–19 United States Detroit, Michigan
Win 38–9–1
2 NC
Jamaica Oliver Wright PTS 10 1973–04–03 United States Miami Beach, Florida
Win 37–9–1
2 NC
United States Larry Beilfuss PTS 10 1973–02–15 Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente Coliseum,
San Juan
Loss 36–9–1
2 NC
Spain José Manuel Urtain PTS 10 1972–12–01 Spain Madrid
Loss 36–8–1
2 NC
United States Earnie Shavers UD 10 1972–08–26 United States Canton Auditorium,
Canton, Ohio
Loss 36–7–1
2 NC
United States Ron Lyle TKO 2 (10)
1:41
1972–07–10 United States Denver, Colorado
Loss 36–6–1
2 NC
United States Bob Foster TKO 2 (15)
2:55
1972–04–07 United States Miami Beach Convention Hall,
Miami Beach, Florida
For WBC
light heavyweight title
Lost WBA
light heavyweight title
Win 36–5–1
2 NC
United States Doyle Baird TKO 8 (15)
2:10
1971–12–15 United States Cleveland Arena,
Cleveland, Ohio
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win 35–5–1
2 NC
The Bahamas Gomeo Brennan TKO 14 (15) 1971–10–26 United States Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win 34–5–1
2 NC
Germany Conny Velensek PTS 15 1971–10–14 Germany Berlin Non-title fight.
Win 33–5–1
2 NC
United States Eddie Jones UD 15 1971–08–21 Venezuela Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win 32–5–1
2 NC
United States Johnny Griffin PTS 15 1971–07–11 Spain Valencia, Valencia Non-title fight.
Win 31–5–1
2 NC
Italy Piero del Papa KO 1 (15) 1971–06–05 Venezuela Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win 30–5–1
2 NC
United States Jimmy Dupree KO 6 (15)
2:58
1971–02–27 Venezuela Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Won vacant WBA
Light heavyweight title
Win 29–5–1
2 NC
United States Roger Rouse UD 10 1970–11–07 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Win 28–5–1
2 NC
United States Willie Johnson TKO 4 (10) 1970–10–06 United States Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Win 27–5–1
2 NC
United States Hydra Lacy KO 2 (10) 1970–08–11 United States Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Win 26–5–1
2 NC
United States Levan Roundtree PTS 10 1970–05–20 Puerto Rico Mayagüez
Win 25–5–1
2 NC
United States Fred Williams KO 4 (10) 1970–04–18 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 24–5–1
2 NC
Argentina Avenamar Peralta PTS 10 1969–12–06 Argentina Buenos Aires
Win 23–5–1
2 NC
United States Virgin Islands Randy Stevens KO 5 (10) 1969–11–29 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 22–5–1
2 NC
Puerto Rico Angel Oquendo TKO 6 (10) 1969–10–26 Puerto Rico San Juan
No Contest 21–5–1
2 NC
United States Paul Johnson NC 7 (10) 1969–08–09 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 21–5–1
1 NC
Canada Eddie Talhami PTS 10 1969–07–05 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 20–5–1
1 NC
Venezuela José Luis García PTS 12 1969–05–30 Venezuela Caracas, Venezuela Won vacant Venezuelan
light heavyweight title
Win 19–5–1
1 NC
United States Karl Zurheide UD 10 1969–05–06 United States Aragon Ballroom,
Chicago, Illinois
Win 18–5–1
1 NC
United States Allen Thomas PTS 10 1969–04–01 United States Aragon Ballroom,
Chicago, Illinois
Loss 17–5–1
1 NC
United States Bennie Briscoe TKO 8 (10) 1969–01–26 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 17–4–1
1 NC
United States Charlie Jordan PTS 10 1968–11–26 United States Miami Beach, Florida
Win 16–4–1
1 NC
United States Charlie Jordan UD 10 1968–11–12 United States Miami Beach, Florida
Loss 15–4–1
1 NC
Brazil Juarez de Lima PTS 10 1968–11–03 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 15–3–1
1 NC
United States Bennie Briscoe UD 10 1968–09–23 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Win 14–3–1
1 NC
United States Charley Austin PTS 10 1968–09–09 Puerto Rico San Juan
Loss 13–3–1
1 NC
Cuba Luis Manuel Rodríguez UD 10 1968–07–18 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Win 13–2–1
1 NC
Cuba Luis Manuel Rodríguez UD 10 1968–06–03 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Loss 12–2–1
1 NC
Puerto Rico José González TKO 8 (10)
1:19
1968–04–19 United States National Maritime Union Hall,
New York City
Loss 12–1–1
1 NC
United States Bobby Warthen SD 10 1968–01–12 United States National Maritime Union Hall,
New York City
Win 12–0–1
1 NC
Guam Phil Robinson KO 5 (10) 1967–12–14 Venezuela Caracas, Venezuela
Draw 11–0–1
1 NC
United States Harold Richardson PTS 10 1967–11–10 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 11–0
1 NC
Cuba Pedro Miranda TKO 10 (10) 1967–10–14 Puerto Rico San Juan
Win 10–0
1 NC
United States Tony Smith KO 3 (10) 1967–09–08 Puerto Rico Manuel Carrasquillo Peren Stadium,
Río Piedras
Win 9–0
1 NC
Venezuela Marco Tulio Polanco KO 3 (10) 1967–06–12 Venezuela Caracas, Venezuela
Win 8–0
1 NC
Venezuela Danny Machado TKO 4 (10) 1967–03–20 Venezuela Palacio de Deportes,
Caracas, Venezuela
No Contest 7–0
1 NC
Venezuela Marco Tulio Polanco NC 2 (10) 1966–12–04 Venezuela Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Win 7–0 Venezuela Marcos Pirella KO 2 (10) 1966–11–14 Venezuela Caracas, Venezuela
Win 6–0 Trinidad and Tobago Melville Bennett KO 2 (10) 1966–09–16 Venezuela Caracas, Venezuela
Win 5–0 Venezuela Marco Tulio Polanco KO 3 (10) 1966–06–24 Venezuela Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Win 4–0 Colombia Pedro Vanegas KO 6 (10) 1965–11–05 Colombia Cartagena, Bolívar
Win 3–0 Colombia Pedro Vanegas KO 4 (10) 1965–10–29 Colombia Barranquilla, Atlántico
Win 2–0 Venezuela Joe Louis Troconis KO 1 (?) 1965–07–26 Venezuela Palacio de Deportes,
Caracas, Venezuela
Win 1–0 United States Joe Carabella KO 2 (?) 1965–06–28 Venezuela Palacio de Deportes,
Caracas, Venezuela

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Vicente Rondón Professional boxing record". BoxRec.com.
  • Ring Boxing Record Book 1975.
  • Miami Herald, February 20, 1974, Sports.
  • Fight Program: JOE KING ROMAN VS LEVI FORTE, March 17, 1977, War Memorial Auditorium, Tastee Concerts Sports (James P. Keough, promoter, Rocky Golio, matchmaker, John Ferero, coordinator)-Promotion, Robert L. Agree and VFW Post No. 1966, page 3: Joe King Roman Bio: "Fought LHVY Champion Vincente Rondon(1975), won by knockout in 10 rounds.
  • Ring Magazine, June 1971, pages 30,59: RONDON STOPS DUPREE BUT THE RING STILL BACKS FOSTER, by Randy Gallagher.
  • Vicente Rondon vs Bob Foster on YouTube

External links[]

Preceded by
Bob Foster
Stripped
WBA Light Heavyweight Champion
27 Feb 1971–7 Apr 1972
Succeeded by
Bob Foster
Retrieved from ""