Vicente Rondón

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

See also[]

• List of WBA world champions

References[]

• 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[]

• Brief biography
• Boxing record for Vicente Rondón from BoxRec