Lupe Pintor
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José Guadalupe Pintor Guzmán (born 13 April 1955), better known as Lupe Pintor, is a Mexican 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 1974 to 1995. He won the WBC
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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
title in 1979 after defeating
Carlos Zárate Serna Carlos Zárate Serna (born May 23, 1951) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1970 to 1988, and held the WBC bantamweight title from 1976 to 1979. He and fellow Mexican and world Bantamweight champion Rubén Olivares have the ...
, and made eight defenses. In 1985, Pintor defeated
Juan Meza Juan Meza (born March 18, 1956), also known for his nickname Kid Meza, is a Mexican former professional boxer who was world Super Bantamweight champion. Meza was born in Mexicali, Mexico. Short biography Mesa was born Jesus Fernández. Prior to b ...
to win the WBC
super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...
title, but lost to
Samart Payakaroon Phetchakhat na yok (เพชฌฆาตหน้าหยก)(e.g. ''Jade-faced Executioner'') , nationality = Thai , birth_date = , birth_place = Chacherngsao, Thailand , fighting_out_of = Bangkok, Thailand , height ...
in his first defense the following year.


Early life and career

Lupe Pintor was born into a poor, working-class family in Cuajimalpa, just outside
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in 1955 and is alleged to have had an extremely violent relationship with his father, eventually forcing him to run away. He lived for a time on the city streets, learning how to look after himself and began boxing professionally in 1974. He opened his account with a second-round knockout of Manuel Vázquez and immediately stepped up to ten round bouts, claiming a decision over Francisco Nunez on his next outing. He suffered his first loss three fights later, when he was disqualified against Magarito Lozano, but claimed victory in his next eight bouts, seven by knockout, including wins over notables Juan Díaz, Rocky Mijares and Willie Jespen. Pintor first boxed future World Bantamweight Champion Alberto Davila on 25 February 1976, losing a decision over ten rounds, then embarked on a winning streak of some twenty-two fights in a row. Amongst the fighters he beat during this period were
Gerald Hayes Gerald Hayes (born October 10, 1980) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh. Early years Hayes played his high school ...
- who later conquered Juan Laporte - and Antonio Becerra, the only man to get the better of Salvador Sánchez as a professional boxer. He then travelled to
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 ...
, where he lost a ten-round decision to
Leo Cruz Leonardo Cruz (born January 17, 1953, in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic), better known in the world of boxing as Leo Cruz, was a world Jr. Featherweight champion from the Dominican Republic. Personal Leo was the brother of Carl ...
- himself a future world champion. Upon returning to Mexico, Pintor lost for the second time in a row, carelessly dropping a decision to journeyman Jose Luis Soto. Another winning streak, comprising five fights in a row, all by way of knockout and he was ready for a shot at the world title.


World Champion

Carlos Zarate was Pintor's stable mate and a fellow Mexican. He was an outstanding champion and continues to be rated one of the very best of all Bantamweights. The records, however, show that Pintor edged a very close and controversial split decision, following a remarkable contest that saw him hit the canvas in round four. But the judges were so at variance when recording their verdict, that (like already stated) the contest remains a matter of controversy today. Naturally, the new World Champion's relationship with Zarate - already strained - took another hit and Zarate retired in disgust. Pintor was a busy champion and he began his reign by engaging in three non-title bouts, beating Aucencio Melendez by a knockout in the first and avenging his loss to Jose Luis Soto before losing a rematch with Manuel Vázquez by a knockout in six. Then he began to defend his title in earnest, retaining it with a knockout in twelve over
Alberto Sandoval Alberto Sandoval (born 12 March 1958) is an American former professional boxer and is the older brother of former World Boxing Association Champion, Richie Sandoval. Early life Sandoval was born in Pomona, California, a city famous in pugilisti ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and drawing over fifteen with Eijiro Murata in Tokyo. His next bout ended tragically. He defended against
Johnny Owen John Richard Owens (7 January 1956 – 4 November 1980) was a Welsh professional boxer who fought under the name Johnny Owen. His seemingly fragile appearance earned him many epithets, including the "Merthyr Matchstick" and the "Bionic Ba ...
of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
in Los Angeles. Many of the fans present and the authors of '' The Rings ''Boxing in The 20th Century'', have agreed that the fight should have been stopped during round ten. But it carried on until the close of the twelfth, when Pintor unleashed a savage right-hand, knocking his opponent out cold. Owen failed to regain consciousness, lapsed into a coma and died seven weeks later. This fight was documented in the film ''
Faces of Death II ''Faces of Death'' (later re-released as ''The Original Faces of Death'') is a 1978 American mondo horror film written and directed by John Alan Schwartz, credited under the pseudonyms "Conan Le Cilaire" and "Alan Black" respectively. The fi ...
''. Saddened, Pintor - encouraged by Owen's family - resumed his career by avenging his loss to Davila, retaining the title by unanimous decision. He went on to retain the belt against
Jose Uziga Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...
- again by decision - and Jovito Rengifo, by a knockout in eight. He stopped Hurricane Teru in the fifteenth and final round to close 1981 and began 1982, by retaining the title against Seung-Hoon Lee with an eleventh-round knockout. Soon after the Lee fight, Pintor vacated his world title and started eyeing the WBC Super Bantamweight crown worn by the great
Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraWBA World Bantamweight Champion
Jorge Luján Jorge Luján (born March 18, 1955) is a Panamanian who was a professional boxer and fought many top-flight boxers and several champions during the 1970s and 1980s. Luján is the former Lineal and WBA Bantamweight world champion. He was managed b ...
and then, on 3 December of that year, he and Gómez met as part of the Carnival of Champions in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. Showcased on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, this duel was subsequently dubbed the division's 'Fight of The Decade' by '' The Ring'' magazine. But it did not go Pintor's way. Gómez recorded a fourteenth-round knockout and relinquished his own title five months later. Pintor was inactive throughout 1983. He returned to the ring a year-and-a-half later as a fully-fledged
Super Bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...
defeating Ruben Solorio on 16 February 1984 and busied himself thereafter trying to get another shot at the world title. his perseverance paid off when he was pitted against Juan 'Kid' Meza, the WBC's Super Bantamweight Champion on 18 August 1985. Pintor floored the defending champion three times on the way to collecting a unanimous decision and celebrated his new status as a double world title holder. His first defense of this new crown did not go to plan. Traveling to
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
to meet
Samart Payakaroon Phetchakhat na yok (เพชฌฆาตหน้าหยก)(e.g. ''Jade-faced Executioner'') , nationality = Thai , birth_date = , birth_place = Chacherngsao, Thailand , fighting_out_of = Bangkok, Thailand , height ...
, Pintor exceeded the division weight limit and was subsequently stripped of his title at the scales. Payakaroon could still become champion if he defeated Pintor but if Pintor won the title would be declared vacant. Payakaroon pounded Pintor to defeat in five rounds and the ex-champion quit fighting for the next eight years. Pintor made a comeback of sorts in 1994, but at the comparatively advanced age of thirty-eight, he was long past his best. Winning just twice in seven contests through over the next eighteen months, he was finally convinced that it was time to retire.


Honors

Pintor was named The
Ring magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...
Comeback of the Year fighter for 1985.


After boxing

Unlike many great champions, Pintor has managed his money well and opened a boxing school in Mexico City. In 2002, he was invited to
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
by Johnny Owen's family to help unveil a bronze
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
commemorating the boxer's life and career. In 2008, Pintor reunited with Carlos Zarate and joined Juan Laporte as the three former victims of Wilfredo Gómez showed up at a party dedicated to Gómez for his fiftieth birthday, in Puerto Rico. Pintor, along with
Hector Camacho In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
and Hilario Zapata and several non-boxers was voted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
in December 2015 and was inducted in June 2016.


Professional boxing record


See also

*
List of WBC world champions This is a list of WBC world champions, showing every world champion certificated by the World Boxing Council (WBC). The WBC is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and certifies world champions in 18 different weight cla ...
*
List of Mexican boxing world champions In Mexico, boxing is considered a major sport, having produced over 200 world champions in professional boxing. Mexico ranks first worldwide between countries with most boxing world champions and is the second country to have world champions accre ...


References


Sources

(i) There are few online accounts of Pintor's upbringing. A sensitive description may however, be located here

(ii) For an in-depth discussion of Pintor's controversial defeat of Carlos Zarate, see

(iii) A ring report describing the Owen fight can be found here

(iv) For more on Pintor's relationship with Johnny Owen's family, see

(v) For a piece on Pintor's return fight with Albert Davila, go to Boxing Inside

(vi) Details of Pintor's ring record can be found at the Boxing Records Archive


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pintor, Lupe 1955 births Living people Boxers from Mexico City World boxing champions World bantamweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions Mexican male boxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees