Louie Espinoza (born May 12, 1962 in

Globe, Arizona Globe ( apw, Bésh Baa Gowąh "Place of Metal") is a city in Gila County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,249. The city is the county seat of Gila County. Globe was founded c. 1875 as a mining ca ...

) is an American boxer in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

division. He now resides in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

. Espinoza turned pro in 1982 and won the Vacant WBA Super

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

Title in 1987 by defeating Tommy Valoy, becoming the first world champion boxer from Arizona in history. He defended the title twice before losing it to

Julio Gervacio Julio Antonio Gervacio (born 1967) is a former boxer and world Super Bantamweight champion from the Dominican Republic. As a child, he relocated to Puerto Rico. He always expressed pride in his national background; and he considered himself a Dom ...

later that year. In 1989 he took on IBF Featherweight Title holder Jorge Páez but came up short in a draw. He won the WBO Featherweight Title later that year by beating

Maurizio Stecca Maurizio Stecca (born 9 March 1963) is a retired Italian boxer, who won the Bantamweight Gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Stecca was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna. His brother Loris Stecca was also a professional boxer. Profession ...

by TKO, but lost the belt the following year in a close decision loss in a rematch with Páez.

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* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinoza, Louie 1962 births Living people Featherweight boxers World featherweight boxing champions Super-bantamweight boxers World super-bantamweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Organization champions People from Globe, Arizona Boxers from Arizona Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona American male boxers People from Winkelman, Arizona