José "King" Roman (born December 17, 1946) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who was

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 ...

's first world heavyweight championship challenger. He is known as "Joe King Roman." He holds notable victories over Manuel Ramos and ex-Light Heavyweight champion Vicente Rondon.

Pro career

In Roman's early career, he achieved mixed results. He defeated people like Jack O'Halloran and

Chuck Wepner Charles Wepner (born February 26, 1939) is an American former professional boxer. He fell just nineteen seconds short of a full fifteen rounds against world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 championship fight. Wepner also scored notab ...

but lost to Jack Bodell. After the Bodell loss, Roman had a win-streak, defeating O'Halloran once again and besting Manuel Ramos. He lost to Robie Harris but put together a streak of wins before fighting George Foreman.

Foreman Fight

In late August 1973, he travelled to

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

to challenge world Heavyweight champion George Foreman, losing by a knockout in the first round there on September 1. Roman's corner protested that he was hit by Foreman while Roman was down, although no action was taken on this complaint. Even though he lost, he made history by becoming the first Puerto Rican to challenge for the world's Heavyweight championship. The only fellow Puerto Ricans to challenge for the heavyweight championship are Ossie Ocasio,

Fres Oquendo Fres Oquendo (born April 1, 1973) is a Puerto Rican professional heavyweight boxer. He had a successful amateur record before turning professional in 1997. He has challenged three times for world heavyweight titles. Amateur career He had an amat ...

and

John Ruiz John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a w ...

, who later became the first Latino to hold a version of the heavyweight championship.

Afterwards

Roman took held a win over former WBA world Light Heavyweight champion Vicente Rondon just after the Foreman fight, his first win afterwards. In 1975 he lost to Mike Quarry and later in the year he began a series of losses. He lost seven times, notably losing to Jimmy Young. Roman was defeated by

Boone Kirkman Daniel Victor "Boone" Kirkman (born February 6, 1945) is a former amateur and professional heavyweight boxer. He compiled a 36-6 career record, with 26 knockouts, having limited success against the top fighters of the era he met in the ring - b ...

afterwards, in 1977, but never achieved a notable fight afterwards, having a mixed record.

Retirement

Roman retired in 1981 with a record of 54 wins, 27 losses and 4 draws, with 27 knockout wins. He used to work at a Sweetbay Supermarket in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. Ossie Ocasio and Fres Oquendo also challenged for the world's heavyweight championship, both are also from Puerto Rico. Ruiz was born in the USA of Puerto Rican ancestry.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Jose 1946 births Living people People from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male boxers Heavyweight boxers