Lauro Salas (28 August 1928 in Monterrey, Nuevo León,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

– 18 January 1987) was a Mexican professional boxing champion in the

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

division.

Professional career

Salas was known as a tireless puncher, who often would wear his opponents out in the late rounds with a volume of punches. Boxing as a Featherweight for much of his early career, he was given a title shot against Lightweight champion

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

on April 1, 1952, at the

Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...

in Los Angeles. Appearing to be well behind for the first ten rounds, Salas staged a late rally in the championship rounds, which he capped off with a two-count knockdown of the champion in the 15th round. Carter would win the unanimous decision, even as Salas won a lot of respect for his valiant effort. Six weeks later as a 4-to-1 underdog he faced Carter again for the title at the Olympic in a rematch. This time around, he got off to a much better start, cut the champion, and once again overwhelmed Carter with his pressure in the late rounds. This time around, he was awarded a split decision over Carter, to win the World Lightweight Title. On October 15, 1952, Salas fought a rubber match with Carter at

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

. In the rematch Carter established control inside, dictating the pace, and cutting Salas over both of the eyes. With his vision hampered by cuts, along with the punishment he had taken from Carter, he was unable to sustain a late rally. Carter was awarded a wide unanimous decision, to regain the Lightweight title for the 2nd time.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salas, Lauro 1928 births 1987 deaths Sportspeople from Monterrey Boxers from Nuevo León World lightweight boxing champions Mexican male boxers

Professional career

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links