Rosendo José Álvarez Hernández (born May 6, 1970) is a Nicaraguan retired

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 ...

. He is a former two-division champion and is well known for giving Mexican legend Ricardo López two tough fights. He is the only person to hold the undefeated strawweight champion to a draw.

Professional career

Álvarez made his professional debut on May 23, 1988. He accumulated a record of 19-0, which included a TKO victory over future champion José Bonilla, before challenging for a world title.

WBA minimumweight title

On December 2, 1995, he traveled to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and won the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

strawweight title by close split decision over undefeated Thai champion Chana Porpaoin, who was 9-0 in title fights. In 1996, he defended his title three times including a third round knockout over future champion Kermin Guardia, a decision win over former champion Eric Chavez, and an eighth round knockout over undefeated prospect Takashi Shiohama. He had one bout in 1997, an eleventh round knockout over undefeated future interim champion Songkram Porpaoin (twin brother of Chana), for his fourth title defense.

Fights with López

In 1998, he fought to a draw with undefeated reigning WBC champ and pound-for-pound ranked Ricardo López (boxer), Ricardo Lopez, dropping Lopez for the first and only time in his career. The fight was stopped in the 8th round when Lopez suffered a cut from a clash of heads, resulting in a technical draw on the scorecards. A rematch was set for later in the year, however, the fight was in jeopardy of taking place as Alvarez failed to make weight by 3 1/4 pounds. He was stripped of the title and the two met at an over the 105-pound strawweight limit, with the WBA title being on the line for Lopez only. Alvarez lost the rematch by a 12-round split decision, suffering his first loss as a professional.

WBA light flyweight title

Álvarez then moved up to the 108 lb division and won his following three fights, including a decision victory over future champion Tomás Rojas (boxer), Tomás Rojas. On August 12, 2000, he lost by seventh round disqualification for repeated low blows to Beibis Mendoza for the vacant WBA light flyweight title. He later avenged this loss by twelve round split decision to claim the title. In his following fight, he faced Pichit Siriwat, who had previously defended the same WBA title five times before being stripped of it in 2000 for failing to defend it against Alvarez. He defeated Siriwat by 12th-round TKO. In 2003, he defeated Mendoza for a second time by decision and gained recognition as List of The Ring world champions#Junior flyweight, Ring light flyweight champion. Later that year, he fought to a twelve-round draw against then-IBF champ José Víctor Burgos in a unification bout. In 2004, he was stripped of his WBA and Ring light flyweight titles prior to a fourth meeting with Mendoza, due to his failure to make weight. He went on to win the fight by split decision.

WBC flyweight title loss and doping controversy

On May 8, 2006, he challenged Jorge Arce for the interim WBC flyweight title, but was defeated by 6th round tko. After the fight, Álvarez was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for the rest of 2006 and fined $2,000 because he failed a post-fight urinalysis. Álvarez tested positive for the banned diuretic Furosemide, also known as Lasix.

Retirement

Álvarez is a promoter and manager in his native Nicaragua and it is assumed that the Arce fight was his last effort as a combatant.

Comeback

In 2012, Álvarez returned to the ring at age 42, but lost by 5th round disqualification.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Álvarez, Rosendo 1970 births Living people Nicaraguan male boxers Nicaraguan sportspeople in doping cases Sportspeople from Managua Doping cases in boxing Mini-flyweight boxers Light-flyweight boxers Flyweight boxers World mini-flyweight boxing champions World light-flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions The Ring (magazine) champions