Francisco Horta Cú (born 26 September 1993) is a Mexican professional boxer who challenged for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

junior featherweight title in 2019.

Early life

Horta was born on 26 September 1993 in Campeche City,

Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...

as the second of three brothers. He began boxing at the age of nine under the tutelage of his father, trainer Francisco Horta Collí, and made his amateur debut in the 25 kg division in a boxing exhibition at a fair. Horta later represented his state at the national level, winning a bronze medal at the 2008 .

Professional career

Horta made his professional debut on 18 February 2011, defeating Albert Pachecho by

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split dec ...

in his hometown of Campeche. He suffered defeats in his second and third fights due to being abruptly moved up to eight-round bouts. He lost a third time to Guillermo Rodríguez in 2014 before going on a 13-fight unbeaten streak, improving his record to 20–3–1. On 7 December 2019, Horta faced Emanuel Navarrete for his WBO junior featherweight title in the main event of a Top Rank on ESPN+ card in

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

. He was overwhelmed by the champion, and the referee waved off the fight in the fourth round in Navarrete's favor.

Personal life

Horta moved to Cancún early in his professional career, initially staying in a three-by-three meter room with no bed. He is an avid road cyclist, traversing the Yucatán Peninsula from Cancún to

Tenabo Tenabo is a city in the Mexican state of Campeche. It is located in the north of the state, 35 km from the state capital Campeche, Camp., and 110 km from Mérida, Yucatán, along Federal Highway 180. It serves as the municipal seat for ...

over a span of seven days in 2018. Horta moved to Tijuana after the trip. He has also served as a

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...

under a government program, talking about his journey at various schools and universities in the state of Campeche.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horta, Francisco Living people 1993 births Mexican male boxers Super-bantamweight boxers Boxers from Campeche Boxers from Quintana Roo People from Campeche City People from Cancún