José Manuel Ibar Azpiazu (also known as Urtain; 14 May 1943 – 21 July 1992) was a Spanish

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 became the

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

heavyweight champion in 1970 and 1971.

Biography

Born in

Aizarnazabal Aizarnazabal is a town located in the Provinces of Spain, province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, in the north of Spain. As of 2014 it had a total population of 775 inhabitants. R ...

, he was nicknamed Urtain as it was the name of the house where he spent his childhood in

Zestoa Zestoa () is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in Nor ...

. When he was young he started practising

Basque rural sports Basque rural sports, known as ''Deportes Rurales'' in Spanish language, Spanish or ''Herri Kirolak'' in Basque language, Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people. The t ...

, known as ''Herri Kirolak'', specially aizkolaritza (wood-chopping) and harri-jasotze (stone lifting) before becoming a professional boxer. He started boxing in

Ordizia Ordizia, formerly known as Villafranca de Ordizia, is a town and municipality located in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. The professional cycle road race Prueba Vi ...

in 1968 and he won 27 fights in a row by ''

knock-out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several Contact sports, full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of World Taekwondo Federation#Sparri ...

''. In 1970, he became the

heavyweight champion in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

after defeating the German Peter Weiland in the seventh round. He then lost his crown on 10 November 1970 at Wembley stadium in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

against Britain's

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fi ...

. The next year in 1971 he recovered the European EBU champion crown against

Jack Bodell Jack Bodell (11 August 1940 – 9 November 2016) was an English professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Boxing career Born in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, Bodell started out as a light heavyweight, winning the 1961 ABA cham ...

, but lost it again in 1972 against Jurgen Blin. He tried to recover the title again in 1977 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

against Jean Pierre Coopman but he could not defeat the Belgian boxer. After retirement Urtain suffered from alcoholism and debts, resulting in the breakdown of his marriage. He committed suicide by jumping from the 10th floor of his home in Madrid. During his period as a boxer (1968-1977) he took part in 68 fights, of which we won 53 (41 by ''knock-out''), lost 11 and 4 draws.

Filmography

* '' Urtain, el rey de la selva... o así'' (1969)

References

External links

*
European Boxing Union official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urtain, Jose Manuel Suicides by jumping in Spain 1943 births 1992 deaths Spanish male boxers Heavyweight boxers People from Urola Kosta Sportspeople from Gipuzkoa European Boxing Union champions 20th-century Spanish sportsmen