Vicente Saldivar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Saldivar and the second or maternal family name is García.
Vicente Saldívar
Vicente Saldivar 1965.jpg
Saldivar after the bout with Raul Rojas in 1965
Statistics
Real nameVicente Samuel Saldívar García
Nickname(s)Zurdo de Oro
Weight(s)Featherweight
Super featherweight
Lightweight
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Reach1.70 m (67 in)
NationalityMexican
Born(1943-03-05)March 5, 1943
Mexico City, Mexico[1]
DiedJuly 18, 1985(1985-07-18) (aged 42)
StanceSouthpaw[2]
Boxing record
Total fights40
Wins37
Wins by KO26
Losses3
Draws0
No contests0

Vicente Samuel Saldívar García (May 3, 1943 – July 18, 1985) was a Mexican professional boxer.[3] He was a former WBC and a two-time WBA Featherweight Champion.[4] Saldivar has frequently been ranked amongst the greatest in the history of that division by many noted boxing historians and critics.[5] He currently holds the record for the most wins in unified featherweight title bouts and the longest unified featherweight championship reign in boxing history at 8 title bouts and 7 title defenses respectively. Saldívar fought in front of the fourth largest crowd ever, 90,000 in Estadio Azteca, and has also regularly been cited as one of the finest left-handed fighters of all time.[6]

Childhood[]

Saldívar was born in one of the many poor quarters of Mexico City and is one of seven children. He used to get in fights on the streets and in school, so his father decided to channel the misguided energy into boxing.[7] Like many other Mexicans his father was a big boxing fan, so it was a logical move. He was taught by Jose Moreno,[8] a veteran trainer of a nearby Mexico City boxing gym.[9]

Fighting style[]

As a southpaw, Saldívar was a dynamic fighter in the ring. He could box or brawl, and often softened opponents with a brutal body attack. Among his greatest assets was his stamina; he scored seven knockouts after the 7th round. Saldívar had an unusually slow heart and pulse rate, which he claimed was the secret of the phenomenal pace he was able to maintain in the ring.[10][11]

Amateur career[]

Saldívar had a successful amateur career, crowned with a Mexican Golden Gloves title at bantamweight. At seventeen years old, he was included into the 1960 Olympic team, but was eliminated in the first bout of the Rome tournament by Ernst Chervet of Switzerland.[1][12]

Professional career[]

Saldívar turned professional in 1961 and won the Mexican featherweight title with a second-round knockout of on February 8, 1964. His first major victory came on June 1 of that same year when he defeated future lightweight champion and hall of fame member Ismael Laguna. Before challenging for a world title, he accumulated a record of 25–1, with his sole loss avenged by knockout.

WBC and WBA Featherweight Championships[]

On September 26, 1964, Saldívar won the WBA and WBC Featherweight titles by upsetting fellow Mexican fighter and future hall of famer Sugar Ramos with an 11th-round knockout in an extremely bloody battle. His first reign as champion would last three years, in which Saldívar made eight successful title defenses. The reign was highlighted by his trilogy with Howard Winstone.[13]

In his first title defense, he defeated future champion Raul Rojas. On September 7, 1965, he defeated Winstone in their first meeting with a 15-round decision . Following that victory, he defeated Floyd Robertson by second round knock out. He then defeated Mitsunori Seki in two consecutive bouts. On June 15, 1967, Saldívar defeated Winston once again by a 15-round decision. In 1996, Ring magazine included their second meeting on their list of the 100 greatest title fights of all-time.[14] In the final installment of their trilogy, he defeated Winston by 12th round knock out.[15] Saldivar announced his retirement after that contest in October 1967. Three months later, Winstone won recognition as WBC featherweight champion, claiming the belt left vacant by Saldivar, by defeating Mitsunori Seki with a 9th-round stoppage due to a cut right eye.

Return to the ring[]

After 21 months of inactivity, Saldívar returned to the ring on July 18, 1969 and won a 10-round unanimous decision over another former as well as future Featherweight champion, José Legra. Then on May 9, 1970, he regained the featherweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Johnny Famechon. This reign, however, was short-lived. Saldívar lost the crown seven months later in his first defense against Kuniaki Shibata.

Retirement and comeback[]

He would fight once more before retiring again in 1971, however, the lure of the ring was too strong. He returned at the age of 30 after 2 years and 3 months of inactivity for another title attempt on October 21, 1973. His opponent was fellow Hall of Famer and former bantamweight champion Éder Jofre. Jofre, who was 37, had won the Featherweight crown after coming out of his own retirement (albeit a brief 7 month one). Saldívar's skills had greatly diminished and Jofre won the contest with a fourth-round knockout in Brazil. After the fight, Saldívar retired for good.[16][17]

Professional boxing record[]

Professional record summary
40 fights 37 wins 3 losses
By knockout 26 3
By decision 11 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
40 Loss 37–3 Brazil Éder Jofre KO 4 (15) 1973-10-21 Brazil Salvador, Bahia, Brazil For WBC featherweight title
39 Win 37–2 United States Frankie Crawford UD 10 1971-07-15 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
38 Loss 36–2 Japan Kuniaki Shibata RTD 12 (15) 1970-12-11 Mexico Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Lost WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
37 Win 36–1 Australia Johnny Famechon UD 15 1970-05-09 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Won WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
36 Win 35–1 Cuba José Legrá UD 10 1969-07-18 United States Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
35 Win 34–1 United Kingdom Howard Winstone TKO 12 (15) 1967-10-14 Mexico Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
34 Win 33–1 United Kingdom Howard Winstone UD 15 1967-06-15 United Kingdom Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
33 Win 32–1 Japan Mitsunori Seki TKO 7 (15) 1967-01-29 Mexico Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
32 Win 31–1 Japan Mitsunori Seki UD 15 1966-08-07 Mexico Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
31 Win 30–1 Ghana Floyd Robertson KO 2 (15) 1966-02-12 Mexico Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
30 Win 29–1 United Kingdom Howard Winstone UD 15 1965-09-07 United Kingdom Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London, United Kingdom Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
29 Win 28–1 United States Raul Rojas TKO 15 (15) 1965-05-07 United States Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
28 Win 27–1 Mexico Delfino Rosales TKO 11 (15) 1964-12-06 Mexico Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico Retained Mexico featherweight title
27 Win 26–1 Cuba Sugar Ramos RTD 12 (15) 1964-09-26 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
26 Win 25–1 Panama Ismael Laguna UD 10 1964-06-01 Mexico Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
25 Win 24–1 Mexico Eduardo Guerrero UD 12 1964-04-04 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained Mexico featherweight title
24 Win 23–1 Mexico Juan Ramírez TKO 2 (12) 1964-02-08 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Won Mexico featherweight title
23 Win 22–1 Cuba Félix Gutiérrez TKO 3 (10) 1963-12-16 Mexico Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
22 Win 21–1 Panama Beresford Francis TKO 2 (10) 1963-09-21 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
21 Win 20–1 Mexico Eloy Sánchez KO 1 (10) 1963-07-13 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
20 Win 19–1 Cuba Baby Luis TKO 8 (10) 1963-06-12 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
19 Win 18–1 United States Dwight Hawkins KO 5 (10) 1963-04-19 Mexico Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
18 Win 17–1 Mexico Luis Hernández KO 2 (10) 1963-03-16 Mexico Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
17 Loss 16–1 Cuba Baby Luis TKO 7 (10) 1962-12-29 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
16 Win 16–0 Mexico Jorge Salazar KO 5 (10) 1962-12-16 Mexico Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
15 Win 15–0 Mexico José López UD 10 1962-11-17 Mexico Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
14 Win 14–0 Mexico Luis Hernández KO 1 (10) 1962-10-11 Mexico Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
13 Win 13–0 Mexico Alberto Soto TKO 2 (10) 1962-08-22 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
12 Win 12–0 Mexico Indio Fernández TKO 6 (10) 1962-06-27 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
11 Win 11–0 Mexico Genaro González DQ 8 (10) 1962-05-02 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
10 Win 10–0 Mexico Jorge Salazar KO 4 (10) 1962-04-04 Mexico Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
9 Win 9–0 Mexico Juan Zavala KO 10 (10) 1962-03-18 Mexico Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico
8 Win 8–0 Mexico Rosendo Martínez TKO 5 (10) 1962-02-08 Mexico Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
7 Win 7–0 Mexico Ernesto Beltrán KO 6 (10) 1962-01-06 Mexico Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
6 Win 6–0 Mexico Juan Rodríguez TKO 6 (10) 1961-12-03 Mexico Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
5 Win 5–0 Mexico José Luis Mora UD 10 1961-10-14 Mexico Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
4 Win 4–0 Mexico Babe López KO 3 (8) 1961-05-20 Mexico Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
3 Win 3–0 Mexico Eduardo Meza KO 3 (8) 1961-04-16 Mexico Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
2 Win 2–0 Mexico Frijol González KO 4 (6) 1961-03-22 Mexico Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
1 Win 1–0 Mexico Baby Palacios KO 1 (6) 1961-02-18 Mexico Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Death[]

He died of cancer on July 18, 1985, aged only 42.[18] In 1999 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[19]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Vicente Saldívar. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ Though he was born right handed and started in an orthodox stance; at 2:06 of this video you will hear the commentator say it in Spanish: "Vicente Saldivar vs Sugar Ramos (part 1)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "News – Rediscovering Vicente Saldivar". Max Boxing. June 5, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Ottum, Bob (October 23, 1967). "Vicente Bored In But Ernie Merely Bored - The Mexicans wept tears of joy as Saldivar beat Winstone and rained cushions on Terrell and Ramos". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  5. ^ Amato, Jim (October 7, 2010). "Vincente Saldivar: A Mexican legend". Boxingnews24.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  6. ^ "Vicente Saldivar". Cyber Boxing Zone. May 5, 1943. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  7. ^ Jim Amato (October 8, 2010) Vincente Saldivar : A Mexican Ledgend [sic]. ringnews24.com
  8. ^ "Adolfo "Negro" Pérez y su gran campeón Vicente Saldívar – Lic. Tomás Kemp". Oem.com.mx. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  9. ^ "Vincente Saldivar : A Mexican Legend : Boxing Let'S Talk". Boxingletstalk.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  10. ^ "De Vicente Saldívar al "Canelo" Álvarez - Duelos inolvidables entre mexicanos e ingleses". yucatan.com.mx. March 5, 2011. Archived from the original on March 8, 2011.
  11. ^ "Erik Morales representará a Vicente Saldívar en el cine". Solo Boxeo. February 17, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  12. ^ "Vicente Saldivar – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  13. ^ "BBC Sport – Boxing – Howard Winstone v Vicente Saldivar III". BBC News. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  14. ^ "The 100 Greatest Title Fights of All-Time – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  15. ^ "Vicente Saldivar vs. Howard Winstone (2nd meeting) – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  16. ^ "Home". Max Boxing. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  17. ^ "Eder Jofre vs. Vicente Saldivar – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  18. ^ "Mexican Legend: Vicente Saldivar". BoxeoMundial. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  19. ^ Vicente Saldivar. International Boxing Hall of Fame

External links[]

Achievements
Preceded by WBA Featherweight Champion
1964 Sep 26 – 1967 Oct
Retired 		Succeeded by
Raul Rojas
WBC Featherweight Champion
1964 Sep 26 – 1967 Oct
Retired 		Succeeded by
Lineal Featherweight Champion
1964 Sep 26 – 1967 Oct
Retired 		Vacant
Title next held by
Johnny Famechon
Preceded by WBC Featherweight Champion
1970 May 9 – 1970 Dec 11 		Succeeded by
Lineal Featherweight Champion
1970 May 9 – 1970 Dec 11
Retrieved from ""