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Eusebio Pedroza (March 2, 1956 – March 1, 2019) was a Panamanian boxer who held the WBA and lineal featherweight championship from 1978 to 1985, having defended the title against 18 different contenders, more than any other boxer in featherweight history. His cousin, Rafael Pedroza, was a world champion also, in the junior bantamweight division, although Rafael's reign as world champion was short-lived. Eusebio Pedroza died one day before his 63rd birthday.


Biography

Pedroza started out as a professional
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe eel ...
on December 1, 1973, with a four-round
knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking ...
win over Julio Garcia. His first 15 bouts were all in Panama. He went 14-1 over that span of fights, including a win over Jacinto Fuentes, a boxer who would later draw and lose to
Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraAlfonso Pérez by a knockout in three. For fight number 16, Pedroza went to
Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000,0 ...
, Mexico, in the last week of March 1976 to challenge WBA world bantamweight champion
Alfonso Zamora Alfonso Zamora Quiroz (born 9 February 1954) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1980. He was the Lineal and WBA bantamweight champion, and made five title defenses. As an amateur, he won a silver medal in the ban ...
for the world title. In his first championship try, Pedroza suffered his second loss, being knocked out in two rounds. After returning to Panama, he beat Pablo Jimenez by a decision in ten, then lost to Oscar Arnal in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in t ...
by a knockout in six. He would not lose again for nine years. Pedroza won three fights in 1977, two by knockout, and then, in April 1978, the WBA featherweight champion, Cecilio Lastra of Spain, travelled to Panama to defend his title on April 18 against Pedroza, who knocked him out in round 13 to become the new WBA featherweight champion. Pedroza, during the next seven years, travelled the world to defend his title. Among 18 fighters Pedroza defended the title against were Enrique Solis in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, in a 15-round decision win, former world champion
Royal Kobayashi , better known as Royal Kobayashi, is a retired Japanese boxer who competed at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the featherweight division, and won the Lineal and WBC junior featherweight titles in 1976. He is an alumnus of the Takushoku Univer ...
(in Japan), knocked out in 14, Sa Wang Kim (in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...
), knocked out in 8, former three-time world champion and fellow Hall of Famer
Rubén Olivares Rubén Olivares Avila (born January 14, 1947) is a Mexican former professional boxer and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame., Olivares was a world champion multiple times, and considered by many as the greatest bantamweight champio ...
, who lasted 12, Johnny Aba (in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
,
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
), who lost in 11, future world junior lightweight champion
Rocky Lockridge Rick "Rocky" Lockridge (January 10, 1959 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for having handed Roger Mayweather his first defeat—a first-round knockout in just 98 seconds—earning him the WBA an ...
, who went the distance with Pedroza in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and in Italy but lost by decision both times, Carlos Piñango (in Venezuela), knocked out in seven, Juan Laporte by decision, Jose Caba in Italy, also by decision, and Bernard Taylor in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...
by the way of draw. He also defended in his home country many times during that span, including a decision win over countryman and former WBA world Bantamweight champion Jorge Lujan, and became a household name in Latin America, his face appearing on the cover and posters of ''
Ring En Español The Ring En Español is a Spanish version of boxing publication '' The Ring'' magazine. ''Ring En Español'' was originally published from 1977 to 1985. Originally published from Caracas and later from Panama, it moved in 1981 to Miami, to Editoria ...
'' and ''
Guantes ''Guantes'' was a Spanish-language boxing magazine that was produced from Panama and later from New York City. The magazine's name means ''gloves'' in Spanish. Profile The publisher of ''Guantes'' was Hispano American Publications. Chon Romero se ...
'' magazines multiple times. Pedroza finally lost his title in England, being defeated by Ireland's
Barry McGuigan Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 ...
in London in a 15-round decision. During Pedroza's reign, talks surfaced of a unification bout against World Boxing Council and lineal featherweight champion
Salvador Sanchez Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...
. These hopes were dashed when Sanchez died in an automobile accident in 1982. By virtue of his win over LaPorte, who succeeded Sanchez as WBC champion, Pedroza was recognized as the new lineal featherweight champion. Between 1986 and 1992, Pedroza tried various comebacks, going 3–2 in total on those comeback attempts. He retired with a record of 42 wins, 6 losses and one draw, with one no contest, and 25 wins by knockout. He is a member of the
International Boxing Hall Of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The IBH ...
. Pedroza was one of a few, whose fights inspired young
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
.Mike Tyson - 1987 Des Lynam Interview - part 2
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Professional boxing record


See also

*
List of featherweight boxing champions Championship recognition Public Acclamation: 1884 to 1921 Champions were recognized by wide public acclamation. A heavyweight champion was a boxer who had a notable win over another notable boxer and then went without defeat. Retirements from the ...


References


External links

*
Eusebio Pedroza, International Boxing Hall of Fame
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedroza, Eusebio 1956 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Panama City Bantamweight boxers Featherweight boxers World featherweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions The Ring (magazine) champions International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Afro-Panamanian Panamanian male boxers