Vicente Saldivar

Vicente Samuel Saldívar García (May 3, 1943 – July 18, 1985) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed between 1961 and 1973. He was a two-time featherweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles from 1964 until his retirement in 1967. He came back and once again held the WBC and The Ring titles in 1970. Saldivar has frequently been ranked amongst the greatest in the history of that division by many noted boxing historians and critics.[3] 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.[4]

box internacional
entrevista a vicente zaldivar 1964

Vicente Saldívar
Saldivar after the bout with Raul Rojas in 1965
Statistics
Real nameVicente Samuel Saldívar García
Nickname(s)El Zurdo de Oro ("The Golden Southpaw")
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Reach67 in (170 cm)
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

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.[5] Like many other Mexicans his father was a big boxing fan, so it was a logical move. He was taught by Jose Moreno,[6] a veteran trainer of a nearby Mexico City boxing gym.[7]

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.[8][9]

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][10]

Professional career

Saldívar turned professional in 1961 and won the Mexican featherweight title with a second-round knockout of Juan Ramírez 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.[11]

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.[12] In the final installment of their trilogy, he defeated Winston by 12th round knock out.[13] 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.[14][15]

Professional boxing record

40 fights 37 wins 3 losses
By knockout 26 2
By decision 11 0
By disqualification 0 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
40 Loss 37–3 Éder Jofre KO4 (15)Oct 21, 1973 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil For WBC featherweight title
39 Win 37–2 Frankie Crawford UD10Jul 15, 1971 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
38 Loss 36–2 Kuniaki Shibata RTD12 (15)Dec 11, 1970 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Lost WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
37 Win 36–1 Johnny Famechon UD15May 9, 1970 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Won WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
36 Win 35–1 José Legrá UD10Jul 18, 1969 Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
35 Win 34–1 Howard Winstone TKO12 (15)Oct 14, 1967 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
34 Win 33–1 Howard Winstone UD15Jun 15, 1967 Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
33 Win 32–1 Mitsunori Seki TKO7 (15)Jan 29, 1967 Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
32 Win 31–1 Mitsunori Seki UD15Aug 7, 1966 Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
31 Win 30–1 Floyd Robertson KO2 (15)Feb 12, 1966 Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
30 Win 29–1 Howard Winstone UD15Sep 7, 1965 Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London, United Kingdom Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
29 Win 28–1 Raul Rojas TKO15 (15)May 7, 1965 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
28 Win 27–1 Delfino Rosales TKO11 (15)Dec 6, 1964 Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico Retained Mexico featherweight title
27 Win 26–1 Sugar Ramos RTD12 (15)Sep 26, 1964 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
26 Win 25–1 Ismael Laguna UD10Jun 1, 1964 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
25 Win 24–1 Eduardo Guerrero UD12Apr 4, 1964 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained Mexico featherweight title
24 Win 23–1 Juan Ramírez TKO2 (12)Feb 28, 1964 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Won Mexico featherweight title
23 Win 22–1 Félix Gutiérrez TKO3 (10)Dec 16, 1963 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
22 Win 21–1 Beresford Francis TKO2 (10)Sep 21, 1963 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
21 Win 20–1 Eloy Sánchez KO1 (10)Jul 13, 1963 Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
20 Win 19–1 Baby Luis TKO8 (10)Jun 12, 1963 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
19 Win 18–1 Dwight Hawkins KO5 (10)Apr 19, 1963 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
18 Win 17–1 Luis Hernández KO2 (10)Mar 16, 1963 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
17 Loss 16–1 Baby Luis DQ7 (10)Dec 29, 1962 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
16 Win 16–0 Jorge Salazar KO5 (10)Dec 16, 1962 Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
15 Win 15–0 José López UD10Nov 17, 1962 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
14 Win 14–0 Luis Hernández KO1 (10)Oct 11, 1962 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
13 Win 13–0 Alberto Soto TKO2 (10)Aug 22, 1962 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
12 Win 12–0 Indio Fernández TKO6 (10)Jun 27, 1962 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
11 Win 11–0 Genaro González DQ8 (10)May 2, 1962 Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
10 Win 10–0 Jorge Salazar KO4 (10)Apr 4, 1962 Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
9 Win 9–0 Juan Zavala KO10 (10)Mar 18, 1962 Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico
8 Win 8–0 Rosendo Martínez TKO5 (10)Feb 8, 1962 Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
7 Win 7–0 Ernesto Beltrán KO6 (10)Jan 6, 1962 Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
6 Win 6–0 Juan Rodríguez TKO6 (10)Dec 3, 1961 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
5 Win 5–0 José Luis Mora UD10Oct 14, 1961 Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
4 Win 4–0 Babe López KO3 (8)May 20, 1961 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
3 Win 3–0 Eduardo Meza KO3 (8)Apr 16, 1961 Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
2 Win 2–0 Frijol González KO4 (6)Mar 22, 1961 Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
1 Win 1–0 Baby Palacios KO1 (6)Feb 18, 1961 Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Death

He died of cancer on July 18, 1985, aged only 42.[16] In 1999 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[17]

See also

References

  1. 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. Amato, Jim (October 7, 2010). "Vincente Saldivar: A Mexican legend". Boxingnews24.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  4. "Vicente Saldivar". Cyber Boxing Zone. May 5, 1943. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  5. Jim Amato (October 8, 2010) Vincente Saldivar : A Mexican Ledgend [sic]. ringnews24.com
  6. "Adolfo "Negro" Pérez y su gran campeón Vicente Saldívar – Lic. Tomás Kemp". Oem.com.mx. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  7. "Vincente Saldivar : A Mexican Legend : Boxing Let'S Talk". Boxingletstalk.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  8. "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.
  9. "Erik Morales representará a Vicente Saldívar en el cine". Solo Boxeo. February 17, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  10. "Vicente Saldivar – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  11. "BBC Sport – Boxing – Howard Winstone v Vicente Saldivar III". BBC News. October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  12. "The 100 Greatest Title Fights of All-Time – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  13. "Vicente Saldivar vs. Howard Winstone (2nd meeting) – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  14. "Home". Max Boxing. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  15. "Eder Jofre vs. Vicente Saldivar – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  16. "Mexican Legend: Vicente Saldivar". BoxeoMundial. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  17. Vicente Saldivar. International Boxing Hall of Fame
Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA featherweight champion
September 16, 1964 – October 14, 1967
Retired
Vacant
Title next held by
Raul Rojas
WBC featherweight champion
September 16, 1964 – October 14, 1967
Retired
Vacant
Title next held by
Howard Winstone
The Ring featherweight champion
September 16, 1964 – October 14, 1967
Retired
Vacant
Title next held by
Johnny Famechon
Undisputed featherweight champion
September 16, 1964 – October 14, 1967
Retired
Vacant
Preceded by
Johnny Famechon
WBC featherweight champion
May 9, 1970 – December 11, 1970
Succeeded by
The Ring featherweight champion
May 9, 1970 – December 11, 1970
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