José Manuel Ibar Azpiazu (also known as Urtain; 14 May 1943 – 21 July 1992) was a Spanish
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 ee ...
, who became the
EBU heavyweight champion in 1970 and 1971.
Biography
Born in
Aizarnazabal
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, he was nicknamed Urtain as it was the name of the house were he spent his childhood in
Zestoa
Zestoa ( es, Cestona) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg ...
. When he was young he started practising
Basque rural sports
Basque rural sports, known as ''Deportes Rurales'' in Spanish or ''Herri Kirolak'' in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people. The term ''force basque'' is used in Fren ...
, known as ''Herri Kirolak'', specially
aizkolaritza (wood-chopping) and
harri-jasotze (stone lifting) before becoming a professional boxer.
He started boxing in
Ordizia
Ordizia, formerly known as Villafranca de Ordizia, is a town and municipality located in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain.
The professional cycle road race Prueba V ...
in 1968 and he won 27 fights in a row by ''
knock-out
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 1970, he became the
EBU heavyweight champion in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
after defeating the German
Peter Weiland in the seventh round.
He then lost his crown on 10 November 1970 at Wembley stadium in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
against Britain's
Henry Cooper. The next year in 1971 he recovered the European EBU champion crown against
Jack Bodell
Jack Bodell (11 August 1940 – 9 November 2016) was an English professional boxer, active during the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, Bodell started out as a light heavyweight, winning the 1961 ABA championships and a bron ...
, but lost it again in 1972 against Jurgen Blin.
He tried to recover the title again in 1977 in
Antwerp against
Jean Pierre Coopman
Jean-Pierre Coopman (born 11 July 1946) is a retired Belgian boxer who is best known for his title fight against Muhammad Ali in 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which Ali won by KO in round 5.
Early life
Jean-Pierre Coopman was born on 11 J ...
but he could not defeat the Belgian boxer.
After retirement Urtain suffered from alcoholism and debts, resulting in the breakdown of his marriage. He committed suicide by jumping from the 10th floor of his home in Madrid.
[
During his period as a boxer (1968-1977) he took part in 68 fights, of which we won 53 (41 by ''knock-out''), lost 11 and 4 draws.
]
References
External links
*
European Boxing Union official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urtain, Jose Manuel
Suicides by jumping in Spain
1943 births
1992 deaths
Spanish male boxers
Heavyweight boxers
People from Urola Kosta
Sportspeople from Gipuzkoa
European Boxing Union champions