Robert Quiroga (October 10, 1969 in San Antonio, Texas – August 16, 2004 in San Antonio) was the
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Cou ...
Super flyweight champion from 1990 to 1993. Quiroga successfully defended his title five times and retired in 1995. He finished with 20–2 with 11 KOs. Quiroga was the first world champion from San Antonio, Texas.
Professional career
Quiroga made his professional debut on March 16, 1987, at the age of 17. In his 12th professional fight, he defeated former WBA light flyweight champion
Joey Olivo
Joey Olivo (born January 25, 1958) is an American former professional boxer of Mexican descent who competed from 1976 to 1989. He held the WBA world light flyweight title in 1985 and challenged for the WBC world light flyweight title in 1981. A ...
. Two fights later, he claimed the IBF Super Flyweight title with a decision win over champion
Juan Polo Perez. Later that year, he defended his title with victories over Vuyani Nene and Vincenzo Belcastro.
On June 15, 1991, at the
HemisFair Arena
HemisFair Arena (also known as the San Antonio Convention Center Arena) was an indoor arena located in San Antonio, Texas. It was home to the ABA/ NBA's San Antonio Spurs from 1973 to 1993 and the San Antonio Force of the AFL during the 1992 seas ...
in San Antonio, Quiroga defended his IBF Super Flyweight Title for the third time with a brutal and bloody twelve-round unanimous decision over undefeated "Kid"
Akeem Anifowoshe. Anifowoshe collapsed after the fight with a blood clot on the brain, and never fought again. The fight was named 1991 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year. The following year, he defeated undefeated challenger Carlos Mercado and former WBO Super Flyweight champion Jose Ruiz.
In 1993, his championship reign came to an end with a tko loss to
Julio César Borboa. He returned to the ring in 1995, but lost by majority decision.
Murder
On August 16, 2004, Richard Merla, then a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, was playing cards with Quiroga when a dispute arose concerning a
Scarface poster that Merla had taken from one of Quiroga's friends. Merla stabbed Quiroga later that night and Quiroga subsequently died on the scene. Afterwards, the Bandidos member was convicted of the murder and received a sentence of 40 years in prison. The Bandidos released an official statement that the former member (Richard Merla) had acted alone and without the consent or knowledge of the club, and he was expelled as a member.
See also
*
List of super-flyweight boxing champions
This is a list of world super-flyweight boxing champions (also known as junior-bantamweight), as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing:
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Ass ...
One Chance Wikipedia Director Page
"One Chance" the Robert "Pikin" Quiroga story
One Chance IMDb
External links
*
Official Robert Quiroga Website
1969 births
2004 deaths
Sportspeople from San Antonio
American male boxers
Boxers from Texas
American boxers of Mexican descent
Flyweight boxers
Super-flyweight boxers
World super-flyweight boxing champions
International Boxing Federation champions
Male murder victims
Murdered Mexican Americans
People murdered in Texas
Deaths by stabbing in the United States
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