Rolando Navarrete (born February 14, 1957) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

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 bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1973 to 1991. He held the WBC

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 Yo ...

title between August 1981 and May 1982.

Fighting style

A fine boxer, Navarrete had a good talent and was known for his hard-hitting punches. Known to be a slugger and one of the greatest Filipino knockout artists.

Professional career

He first fought for a world title in 1980 against

Alexis Argüello Alexis Argüello (April 19, 1952 – July 1, 2009) was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA featherweight title from 1974 to 19 ...

but lost by TKO to the legendary champion. On August 29, 1981, he would win the WBC Super featherweight title by knocking out popular fellow southpaw

Cornelius Boza-Edwards Cornelius Boza-Edwards (born Cornelius Bbosa; 27 May 1956) is the former WBC Super Featherweight Champion of the World. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he fought in both the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions. He emigrated from Uganda to En ...

in the 5th round of a title match held in Italy. He later defended the title against unknown

Choi Chung-Il Choi Chung-il (born 2 April 1958) is a South Korean boxer. He competed in the men's featherweight event at the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights en ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, stopping the gritty challenger in the 11th round of a controversial bout held in Manila in January 1982. In his second title defense four months later in Las Vegas, Nevada, Navarrete took on Rafael "''Bazooka''" Limón. The champion led on all scorecards before getting knocked out by Limón in the 12th round. Thereafter, Navarrete's career went downhill and he would never again figure in big-money fights. In 1984, he was convicted of sexual assault and served three years in a Hawaiian prison. After his release in March 1988, Navarrete went back to the Philippines and embarked on several comeback fights. In one of those fights, he would exact revenge on his old tormentor Limón, winning by decision in a 10-round bout. During his comeback, he was cast alongside fellow boxer

Rolando Bohol Rolando Bohol (born December 25, 1965) is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1994. He held the IBF flyweight title in 1988, and challenged once for the IBF bantamweight title in 1994. Professional career Bohol turne ...

by comic book writer

Carlo J. Caparas Carlo Magno Jose Caparas (born December 15, 1948) is a Filipino comic strip creator and writer-turned film director and producer. He is best known for creating such Filipino superheroes and comic book characters as ''Panday'', '' Bakekang'' ...

in his boxing film '' Kambal Na Kamao: Madugong Engkwentro'', which was released in mid-1988. A series of losses against local fighters and unranked contenders later forced him to retire for good.

Personal life

Navarrete currently lives in General Santos City. A series of failed relationships with different women gave him a total of seven children. One of his sons, Rolando Jr., who fights under his mother's name Rolando Dy, is a professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. Troubles outside the ring left Navarrete with no money and the former world champion now sells fish that, according to him, earn him 800 pesos (about 16 dollars) a day. He still trains nowadays with a heavy bag in his home. He spent three years in a United States prison for rape. Navarrete was also recently involved in various police complaints for wife battery and drugs. On February 14, 2008, Navarrete, was pronounced out of danger, after being stabbed in the neck by Racman Saliling, a tenant at the boarding house he owns in Bula,

General Santos City General Santos, officially the City of General Santos,; hil, Dakbanwa sang Heneral Santos; Maguindanao: ''Ingud nu Heneral Santos''; Blaan: ''Banwe Dadiangas''; Tboli: ''Benwu Dadiangas''; Filipino: ''Lungsod ng Heneral Santos'' and abbre ...

, using an

ice pick The ice pick is a pointed metal tool used from the 1800s to the 1900s to break, pick or chip at ice. The design consists of a sharp metal spike attached to a wooden handle. The tool's design has been relatively unchanged since its creation. The ...

. Navarrete was also involved in two previous attacks: in 2005, he was hit with a steel pipe by a female neighbor and in 2006, a security guard clubbed his leg with a shotgun at a

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

Legacy

He is ranked the 9th best super featherweight champion in history, by the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

. In 2007, Navarrete was included in "Kamao", an episode of award winning program Sine Totoo, which received the RP's first and only George Foster Peabody Award, the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. "Kamao", presented the sports of boxing and featured the story of the former world featherweight champion.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Sunstar.com.ph, Navarette's life in 'Maalaala Mo Kaya'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarrete, Rolando 1957 births Living people Bantamweight boxers Boxers from South Cotabato Featherweight boxers Filipino male boxers Filipinos imprisoned abroad Lightweight boxers Prisoners and detainees of Hawaii World Boxing Council champions World super-featherweight boxing champions Sportspeople from General Santos Super-featherweight boxers