Pedro Montañez (April 24, 1914 – June 26, 1996) was a

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 ...

from Cayey, Puerto Rico. Also known as ''El Torito De Cayey'' (''The Little Bull of Cayey''), he has been considered by many to be one of the best

s in history ''never'' to win a world title. In his career, he was 91–8–4 (51KO).

Career

Montañez was recognized by

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 ...

as one of history's most prolific

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 striking, a ...

winners with 56 knockout wins, and one of the Latinos with the most knockout wins—while only being knocked out twice himself. He also ranks as number 14 in boxing history, also recognized by Ring Magazine, among boxers with most wins in a row, totalling 88 wins in a row. Montanez began boxing in 1931, and captured the Puerto Rican lightweight title in 1933. A European tour followed, and he registered victories in Spain, France, England, and Italy. He was next showcased in New York, and scored wins over Aldo Spoldi and Frankie Klick among others. That set up a non-title bout with lightweight king

Lou Ambers Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio (November 8, 1913 – April 25, 1995), a.k.a. Lou Ambers, was an American World Lightweight boxing champion who fought from 1932 to 1941. Ambers fought many other boxing greats, such as Henry Armstrong and Tony Canzoneri ...

, which Montanez won in a 10-round decision—he was thereafter dubbed the “uncrowned champion.” Impressive wins over formidable foes Eddie Ran,

Wesley Ramey Wesley "Wes" Ramey (September 17, 1909 – March 10, 1997) was an American boxer who was dubbed the "Uncrowned Champion of the Lightweights". Although he was ranked as a top-10 lightweight contender for 10 consecutive years, he was never given a ...

, and Freddie “Red” Cochrane set up a title bout with Ambers on the September 23, 1937, “Carnival of Champions” show at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

in New York City. Although he was defeated for the first time (L 15), observers say he deserved the decision against Ambers. Montanez bounced back to continue his winning ways in bouts with Jackie “Kid” Berg and Young Peter Jackson. Montañez went for the world title two times, losing to

on points. and then Henry Armstrong by a TKO in round 9. Montañez reached great popularity in Puerto Rico,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, and his collection of photos with celebrities is considered one of the largest in Puerto Rico. He had well over 250 pictures with celebrities such as

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

, Jersey Joe Walcott, Cantinflas and some former

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 ...

Governors and other famous people displayed on his house's walls. Montañez was elected to the ''Salon de la Fama del Deporte Cayeyano'' in July 2004. Montañez has a stadium named after him, the ''Pedro Montañez Municipal Stadium'' in Cayey. It is the home of the Toritos de Cayey Double A baseball team, which was named after him, and it also was the Benigno Fernandez Garcia Jr. High School's field day competitions' site.

Hall of Fame

In December 2006, Montañez was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame and in 2007 he was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame located @ 360 N Peterboro St, Canastota, NY 13032

Professional boxing record

References

External links

International Boxing Hall of Fame page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montanez, Pedro 1914 births 1996 deaths International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees People from Cayey, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male boxers Lightweight boxers

Career

Hall of Fame

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links