Jorge Adolfo Páez (born October 27, 1965) is a Mexican actor, circus performer and former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. In boxing he held 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 Boxin ...

and IBF

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

titles. Paez's nickname of ''"El Maromero"'' is in honor of the

somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...

(referred to in Spanish as ''"maroma"'') acts he performs at the circus. It was in the circus that he learned acrobatic moves he would later use in the boxing ring. Páez is also the father of Azriel Páez, Jorge Páez Jr., and Airam Páez.

Personal life

Paez had been a circus performer in his northwest Mexico hometown since he was very young. Jorge started boxing in

San Luis Río Colorado San Luis Río Colorado is a city and also the name of its surrounding municipality in the state of Sonora, Mexico. In the 2020 census, the city had a population of 176,685. The city is the fourth-largest community in the state, and the municipa ...

. He is also the father of

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

prospect Azriel Páez and WBC Youth Intercontinental

champion Jorge Páez Jr.

Professional career

Early years

Paez began boxing professionally on November 16, 1984, knocking out Efren Treno in three rounds.

Featherweight champion

From there on, he built a string of wins that led him to challenge IBF

champion Calvin Grove in boxing's last 15 round world title fight. Paez was trailing on all three scorecards, but dropped the champion three times in the last round. The knockdowns provided an edge on the scorecards, making Paez IBF featherweight champion by a unanimous decision. He defended the title eight times, including a

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, ...

in 11 against Grove in a rematch, a unanimous decision win former world champion Stevie Cruz and a split decision against future world champion Troy Dorsey. He then won the

featherweight title in a unification bout against Louie Espinoza (in a rematch of their 1989 fight that ended in a draw) by split decision. Paez then vacated his titles and moved up in weight, only to lose to IBF

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...

champion Tony Lopez. Paez continued to fight, but he had mixed results versus former world champion Lupe Suarez and against Tracy Spann; he and Suarez drew in 10 rounds, and he beat Spann by a 10-round decision.

Lightweight

On October 10, 1991, Paez moved up to

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

and fought against

Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...

for the WBC, WBA and IBF lightweight titles but lost by unanimous decision. On November 6, 1992, Paez fought against future world champion Rafael Ruelas for the NABF lightweight title, losing by TKO in the 10 round. On July 17, 1993, he lost to Freddie Pendleton by a decision in twelve for the IBF lightweight title On July 29, 1994, he was given a shot at the vacant WBO lightweight title against rising superstar

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...

. Paez lost by a knockout in round two.

Later years

Paez then went up against WBA super featherweight champion

Genaro Hernandez Genaro (from the Latin Januarius, meaning "devoted to Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as havi ...

in a non-title bout, losing by TKO in the 8th round due to cuts. On August 17, 1996, he won the WBC Continental Americas super featherweight regional title by knocking out Narciso Valenzuela in 3 rounds. Paez would then lose that title in his next match against Julian Wheeler but regained it by beating Wheeler in the rematch. On August 7, 1997, he lost by a knockout in eight rounds to Angel Manfredy. After three victories, Paez lost via a devastating one-punch knockout in seven rounds to Augie Sanchez in May 1999. In his next bout in October 1999, Paez boxed future lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo, losing by KO in the fifth round. Paez continued to box on over the next few years, winning a long string of bouts against a lower level of opposition.

Injuries and Retirement

Paez was supposed to fight Jesús Chávez on March 29, 2003. However, it was discovered that Paez suffered from brain swelling, putting the fight with Jesús Chávez and his career in serious jeopardy. Despite these findings, Paez fought on, and on December 5, 2003, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, he defeated Scott McCraken by a ten-round split decision in what would be Paez's final match. His overall record was 79-14-5 (51 KOs).

Professional boxing record

Outside the Ring

In 1993 he made the movie '' Zapatos Viejos'', where he starred alongside

Gloria Trevi Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz (born February 15, 1968), known professionally as Gloria Trevi, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her emotional lyrics, performances, and lasting influence on Latin music, being ...

, playing "Ernesto". In 1995, he made his

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

acting debut in the low-budget movie ''

Dirty Money Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds into ...

''. Paez's name surfaced in the 2004

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

investigation against promoter

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

. The FBI was investigating whether Paez's win over Verdell Smith was a fixed fight or not. Paez had a brief supporting role with

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

as an associate of

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...

, and accompanied him to the ring at the '' No Way Out''

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

event on February 15, 2004. Paez also appeared in Mysterio's music video for his song from the '' WWE Originals'' album, "Crossing Borders."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paez, Jorge Boxers from Mexicali International Boxing Federation champions World Boxing Organization champions Mexican male boxers 1965 births Living people Featherweight boxers 20th-century Mexican sportsmen