La Locamatura, WBA Middleweight Champion Jorge Fernando Castro, Dies at 59
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Buenos Aires (October 2oth, 2026)– Known as ‘La Locamatura’, and ‘El Rona’, former World Boxing Association World Middleweight champion Jorge Fernando Castro, died while playing bingo at the Moron Bingo Hall in Moron, Argentina, on the outskirts of his native Buenos Aires at age 59. Castro suffered a fatal heart attack related to hypoglycemic health complications and passed away in a medical emergency, despite receiving immediate medical attention from paramedics on the scene.
Despite a serious bicycle accident in 1985 in which doctors told him he would never box amateur again, Castro recovered and turned pro two years later. Boxing between 1987 and 2007, Castro compiled a professional record of 130 wins, 11 losses and three draws, with 90 knockouts. His first major bouts, a WBC super welterweight title bout with Terry Norris, and a bout with Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr., ended in decision losses. He won the WBA World Middleweight title by 12-round split decision over Reggie Johnson in 1994, and defended it against Johnson, Anthony Andrews, Alex Ramos, and John David Jackson, before losing the title to Shinji Takehara in 1995.
Castro won a rematch with Jackson, won and lost against Hall of Famer Roberto Duran in his biggest career win, then challenged unsuccessfully for the WBC and IBF cruiserweight titles against Juan Carlos Gomez and Vassily Jirov. After winning a WBA eliminator against Derrick Harmon at cruiserweight in 2005, Castro lost to Jose Luis Herrera in 2006. After a January 2007 second-round TKO rematch win over Jose Luis Herrera in which Castro knocked down Herrera four times, Castro retired at age 39. Although he was noteworthy as an Argentinian who won the world middleweight title (or at least a share of it) after Carlos Monzon, unlike Monzon, Castro did not stay in the division and moved up in weight classes to take his chances at world titles twice in the higher weight classes.
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