Puerto Rico’s All Time Top 10 Best Fighters – 5 to 1

By Eliud Vazquez Torres – Head Puerto Rico Boxing Writer

These next five men are the apex of Puerto Rican royalty. The most accomplished of the gathering list at hand. It could be debated, but they are beyond the shadow of a doubt in a league of their own.

5. Jose Torres(41-3-1, 29 KOs)…. Chejui took up boxing after in listing in the U.S. Army. His amateur boxing and training took him all the way to the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games where he was awarded the silver medal in the Jr. middleweight division. After the Olympics the pugilist from Ponce embarked on a professional career. Torres possessed great power in both hands. Torres defeated such contenders as Don Fullmer and Carl “Bobo” Olson. Jose was then awarded a title shot against Willie Pastrano. Torres became the first Latin American fighter to win the light heavyweight title after stopping Pastrano in 9 rounds.

4. Carlos Ortiz(61-7-1, 30 KOs)…. As a boxer-puncher Ortiz faced great opposition. Ortiz fought a total of seven hall of fame fighters. His first World championship came in at Jr. welterweight with a victory over Kenny Lane. He became the first Puerto Rican champion since Sixto Escobar after more than 30 years later. Instead of moving up in weight, Ortiz decided to move down to the lightweight limit. There the Ponce native engaged in battle against Joe Brown and was elevated to the WBA lightweight champion with a 12 round unanimous decision. After losing his first fight with Ismael Laguna, Ortiz went on to win the rematch for his second title reign at lightweight. Ortiz championship record was 14-4 capturing three titles in two divisions.

3. Wilfred Benitez(53-8-1, 31 KOs)…. The Bronx born Benitez was a savvy ring technician that painted pictures inside the ring. A very slippery fighter that would avoid punches standing right in front of his opponents. Wilfredo became the youngest world champion ever at 17 years old when he defeated Antonio Cervantes in 1976 on a 15 round split decision for the WBA Jr. welterweight title. After moving up to 147, Benitez captured the WBC welterweight championship in another 15 round split decision victory. Then in 1981 Benitez became the youngest three division champion by knocking out Maurice Hope for his WBC Jr. middleweight belt. The defensive wizard was called “the bible of boxing” for the manner in which he evaded incoming artillery.

2. Felix Trinidad(42-3, 35 KOs)…. It is safe to say that Trinidad was the most popular fighter to come from the island. Tito came in at a time when the internet and digital enhancement was evolving. It made it much easier to watch a fight than ever before Trinidad was also very approachable. Felix first found success at the welterweight limit. At just 20 years old Trinidad knocked out Maurice Blocker in two rounds to become the new IBF welterweight title holder. Fifteen successful title defenses followed along with unifying and capturing the IBF/WBC welterweight titles along with the lineal championship with a 12 round majority decision over Oscar De la Hoya in 1999. The Cupey Alto resident’s popularity soared to an all-time high after the De la Hoya victory. Briefly after that Trinidad moved up to 154 and again won two world titles with wins over David Reid and Fernando Vargas. In 2001 Trinidad became a triple crown champion with a fifth round destruction of William Joppy.Trinidad tallied a 20-1 championship record and was champion spontaneously for 8 years (93-01).

1. Wilfredo Gomez(44-3-1, 42 KOs)…. One of the most prolific punchers in the history of the sweet science. Gomez won 32 consecutive fights by knockout which is a record for any world champion. The Bazooka first came on to the scene as a Jr. featherweight. After just 16 pro fights, the fighter from the Las Monjas section in San Juan challenged Dong Kyun Yum of South Korea and won by knockout in round 12 to win the WBC Jr. featherweight title. His biggest win in the division was when he faced Carlos Zarate who had a record of 55 wins, no losses, and 54 knockouts. Gomez put away Zarate in just five rounds with a TKO stoppage.Wilfredo’s second title reign came in at Jr. featherweight when he halted Juan Meza in just six rounds. A 12 round unanimous decision victory over fellow Puerto Rican Juan Laporte for the WBC featherweight crown made Gomez a two division titlist. Two fights later, Wilfredo edged out Rocky Lockridge for his WBA Jr. lightweight championship to accomplish winning titles in 3 separate weight divisions. Gomez holds the record for most Jr. featherweight title defenses at 17. Overall Gomez has a 20-3 championship record.

Honorable Mention:

  • Herbert Lewis Hardwick(177-56-10, 48 KOs)…. The Mayaguez born Hardwick fought in three separate decades(1920’s-40’s) and was a member of the “Black Murderer’s Row”. The Cocoa Kid was the only Puerto Rican among the group. Herbert was a boxer-puncher way before the term was coined. One of his more noticeable wins was against Louis “Kid” Kaplan. The knock on Hardwick is that he never got the opportunity to fight for a world title and did not have a long span winning streak. He had a fight total of 244 recorded bouts. Will be enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame this June.
  • Edwin Rosario(47-6, 41 KOs)….”El Chapo” as they called him was a knockout artist that could had taken anyone out with either hand. Rosario was born and raised in Bario Candelarion which is a section of Toa, Baja. He captured four world titles at lightweight and at Jr. welterweight. Picked up wins against Jose Luis Ramires, Frankie Randall, and Livingstone Bramble along the way. Rosario would lose his titles the very next year after he had won them. Also Edwin never had a signature win over an elite opponent in their prime.
  •  Sixto Escobar(39-23-4, 17 KOs)…. Escobar will forever be remembered as the first World champion from Puerto Rico. The fighter from Barceloneta fought primarily in the 1930’s. Sixto defeated Rodolfo Casanova in 1934 by knockout in round 9 to become the bantamweight champion. A couple of years later, Escobar stopped Tony Marino in the thirteenth round to become the undisputed World bantamweight champion. If it wasn’t for Sixto winning those titles, Escobar would have been lost in the shuffle of Boricua scrappers.
  • Jose Basora(78-20-7. 44 KOs)…. Barsora was born in Lajas but grew up in New York City. He competed in 106 bouts and his career spreaded over three decades. Most of his fights were in the middleweight division. Fought in an era when fighters battled frequently. Tangled with Jake LaMotta four times coming out with a win, a draw, and two losses. His highest accolade was when he held Sugar Ray Robinson, who was considered the best boxer at the time to a draw. Basora received his only title shot in a rematch with Sugar Ray Robinson for the middleweight championship, but was knocked out in the first round. It was a record for the quickest knock out at the time.

Join our FACEBOOK for the latest up to date fight news Real Combat Media.COM

Follow Boxing Writer Eliud Vazquez on TWITTER @REALCOMBATMEDIA

Add us to your circle on GOOGLE PLUS: plus.google.com/Real Combat Media.

JOIN OUR NEW INTEGRATED FACEBOOK FORUMS :realcombatmedia.com/forum

Share

COMMENTS

COMMENTS