Luis Alberto Estaba (born August 13, 1938) is a former boxer from

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 ...

, who was born in

Macuro Macuro, a town in Venezuela, located a few miles from Bocas del Dragón, is a small fishing town overlooking a peaceful bay on the south-west side of the Paria peninsula, in Sucre state, Venezuela A small mission-town was formally established ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

n point of entry for Cristopher Columbus. He was nicknamed ''Lumumba'', because of his resemblance to Congolese leader

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...

. A late starter into

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 predetermined ...

, Estaba became a professional in 1967, at the relatively old (for boxing) age of 29. He beat Pedro Garcia by a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...

in one on February 28 of that year. He kept his winning streak until losing a ten round decision to Natalio Jimenez in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in th ...

in 1968. He avenged that loss immediately by beating Jimenez in his next fight, by decision. After two more wins, he had his first fight abroad, when he lost to Jimenez, again by decision, at

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. In 1975, Estaba became boxing's second world champion ever in the Jr. Flyweight division, when he obtained the vacant WBC title by knocking out

Rafael Lovera Rafael Lovera Montiel (born October 17, 1952) is a former professional boxer from Paraguay. Lovera fought for the WBC's vacant world Junior Flyweight title, losing to Luis Estaba. Lovera is from Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay but he resides in L ...

, who was making his professional debut during this world title bout. He knocked Lovera out in round four September 13 of that year. He defended the title 12 times, including victories over former or future world champions

Franco Udella Franco Udella (born 25 February 1947 in Cagliari) is an Italian former world boxing champion. Amateur career Olympic games results 1968 (as a Light flyweight) *Lost to Alberto Morales (Mexico) 0-5 1972 (as a flyweight) *1st round bye *Defe ...

, Rafael Pedroza, and Netrnoi Vorasingh. In 1977, he was named ''Venezuelan Athlete of the Year''. His luck ran out in 1978, when he lost the title to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Freddie Castillo Freddy Castillo (born June 15, 1955) is a Mexican retired professional boxer who is the former WBC light flyweight champion, WBC and Lineal flyweight champion. Pro career Known as "Chato Loco", Castillo turned pro in 1971 and won the WBC li ...

by a knockout in round 14 on February 19. After beating Ricardo Estupinan by a decision in 15 to win the ''Central American'' title in his division, he challenged Vorasingh (who had beaten Castillo) for the world title. Estaba lost by a knockout in five rounds on July 29, in what he knew would be his last fight as a professional, because local Venezuelan boxing laws ban anyone over 40 years old to box professionally, and Estaba turned 40 only two weeks after that fight. Being forced into retirement, he left the sport of boxing with 41 wins, 9 losses and 2 draws, 27 wins having been by knockout.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Estaba, Luis 1938 births Living people People from Güiria Venezuelan male boxers World Boxing Council champions Light-flyweight boxers World light-flyweight boxing champions

See also

External links