Osvaldo "Ossie" Ocasio (born August 12, 1955) is a Puerto Rican former

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who held the world cruiserweight championship. Nicknamed "Jaws", his peculiar nickname was the result of him accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session.

Heavyweight contender

Ocasio campaigned in the heavyweight division, turning pro in 1976 and putting together 10 wins before signing with

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

and making a name for himself outpointing King fighter Kevin Isaac. In 1978 on the undercard of the Larry Holmes/Ken Norton title fight Ocasio scored a major upset when he outpointed the highly regarded Jimmy Young, who'd outpointed George Foreman only a while back. In a rematch, Ocasio underlined his superiority by again outpointing a this time in-shape Young, in Puerto Rico. It was Ocasio's career high in the Heavyweight division. This earned him his only world heavyweight title shot, against

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Ea ...

in 1979. Attempting to become the first Hispanic to win the world Heavyweight championship, Ocasio was badly outclassed and was knock out in the seventh round. In 1980 he fought red hot undefeated prospect

Michael Dokes Michael Marshall Dokes (August 10, 1958 – August 11, 2012) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1997, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1982 to 1983. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division ...

, and was unlucky to only get a draw. However a rematch saw Ocasio surprisingly knocked out in 1 round. The following year he travelled to the UK and made little effort against local prospect John L. Gardner, before collapsing without getting hit in the 6th round.

Cruiserweight World Champion

He later went down in weight, to fight in the then newly created division of the Cruiserweights. In 1982 he was matched with Robbie Williams in South Africa for the vacant WBA title. Ocasio became a world champion by beating Williams by a 15-round unanimous decision. He shared honors as world champion of that division with countryman

Carlos De León Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewher ...

, the WBC world champion. Ocasio made three successful defenses, winning 15-round decisions over Young Joe Louis and Randy Stephens, appearing on

Jet Magazine ''Jet'' is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded in November 1951 by John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, the magazi ...

the week before the Stephens bout, and knocking out John Odhiambo in the 15th round in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. After the bout Ocasio turned down a fight with

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fighter David Pearce, after Morgans Palle had provided contracts to make the fight and Ocasio had previously signed to. He decided to return to South Africa, where he lost his title to Piet Crous by a 15-round decision. One month before losing the title, his brother had been murdered. Ocasio, during his championship run, was able to buy a house in Trujillo Alto, where he maintained a large farm. He also participated in a Puerto Rican movie, playing a slave in the production. In 1986, he made a comeback, winning two fights including a 10-round decision over former world champion

Dwight Muhammad Qawi Dwight Muhammad Qawi (born Dwight Braxton; January 5, 1953) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and ''Ring'' magazine light heavyweight tit ...

in Atlantic City. Most fans had Qawi winning all 10 rounds, and this is considered one of the worst decisions in boxing history. He attempted to regain his world championship against Evander Holyfield in Marseille, France, but lost by a knockout in 11 rounds.

Return to Heavyweight

He returned to the heavyweight division in 1988, defeating

Pierre Coetzer Pierre Coetzer (born 6 December 1961) is a former heavyweight boxer from Pretoria, South Africa. Coetzer's most notable fights include those against Johnny du Plooy, Riddick Bowe, Frank Bruno and George Foreman. Professional career Coetzer ...

in South Africa, but losing the decision in a rematch. After this fight he was relegated to trialhorse status. In 1989 he made

Ray Mercer Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is an American former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009. Best known for his boxing career, Mercer won a heavyweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer O ...

look bad, losing an 8-round decision. In 1990 he dropped decisions to

Tyrell Biggs Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, havi ...

and

Bruce Seldon Bruce Samuel Seldon (born January 30, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1996, and 2004 to 2009. He held the WBA heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996, most notably losing to Mike Tyson via knockout in his se ...

, then travelled to the UK for two fights losing and being the first opponent to take Lennox Lewis to the distance and scoring an upset when stopping Jess Harding in 8 rounds. Ocasio then travelled to Australia, where he was outpointed by the erratic Mike Hunter. One last comeback in 1992 resulted in a dreary points loss to ex-contender Carl Williams, but it was hard hitting Hispanic prospect Alex Garcia who convinced the usually durable Ocasio to retire- he decked Ocasio several times before knocking him out in the 8th. He retired from boxing with a record of 23 wins, 13 losses and 1 draw, with 12 knockout wins. He currently resides in Orlando, Florida.

Professional boxing record

References

External links