Rafael Solis (born January 2, 1958 in
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Río Piedras is a populous district of San Juan, and former town and municipality of Puerto Rico, which was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. The district today is composed of various '' barrios'' (these are the primary legal divi ...
)
is a former
junior lightweight
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 Y ...
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 ...
from
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 ...
. He was raised in
the ''barrio'' of Camito. Rafael trained at the ''Caimito Gym'', and also frequented the
Bairoa Gym.
Solis is the brother of
Enrique Solis, Santos Solis and former world bantamweight champion
Julian Solís
Julian Solís (born 7 January 1957) is a former boxer from Puerto Rico. He was born in the San Juan area of Río Piedras, but because of the closeness of his birthplace to Caguas, he often trained at the Bairoa Gym in Caguas. His training base, h ...
.
Solis had a successful
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
career, fighting in many
Latin American
Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
countries, such as
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 th ...
,
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
and others.
On October 2, 1982 Solis won the ''Fecarbox'' (Central American Professional Boxing Federation)
super featherweight title,
knocking out Aquilino Asprilla in the 6th round. On November 18, 1983, he challenged
Héctor Camacho
Héctor Luís Camacho Matías (May 24, 1962 – November 24, 2012), commonly known by his nickname "Macho" Camacho, was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and entertainer. Known for his quickness in the ring and flamboyant style, Camacho compet ...
for the
WBC's world Jr. Lightweight title. In what was the second time two
Puerto Rican fighters fought each other for a world title
(the first time was
Benitez vs.
Santos in 1981), Solis lost to Camacho by knockout in round five at
Roberto Clemente Coliseum
Roberto Clemente Coliseum ( Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the largest.
General info ...
.
Solis last boxed in 1995 and retired with a record of 30 wins (20 by knockout), 13 losses (11 by knockout), and 2 draws.
References
External links
Rafael Solis boxing recordThe Miami News - Sep 29, 1982 Google News Archive
1959 births
Living people
Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico
People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican male boxers
Super-featherweight boxers
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