Cecilio Lastra facts for kids

Cecilio Lastra (born August 12, 1951, died September 23, 2025) was a famous Spanish professional boxer. He was known for his exciting fights in the ring. Between 1975 and 1982, he competed in 54 matches. He won 39 of these, with 24 victories coming by knockout, which means his opponent couldn't continue. He lost 13 times and had 2 draws.

The most exciting moment in Lastra's career happened in 1977. He won the WBA world featherweight title. This was a huge achievement! He also became the Spanish champion and fought twice for the EBU title, which is another important boxing championship.

Cecilio Lastra's Boxing Journey

Starting His Professional Career

Cecilio Lastra began his professional boxing journey when he was 24 years old. His very first fight was in December 1975 against Juan Barros. Lastra won this match by a "points victory," which means the judges decided who won based on how well each boxer performed. Most of his early fights happened in his hometown of Santander, Spain.

He had an amazing start, winning his first twelve fights in a row! Six of these wins were by knockout in the very first round. However, in September 1976, he faced his first loss against Carlos Hernandez.

Becoming Spanish Champion

After that first loss, Lastra bounced back with eight more wins in Santander. He then fought Isidoro Cabeza and won the Spanish featherweight title. This made him the best featherweight boxer in Spain!

However, in August 1977, he lost his Spanish title. He was defeated by Roberto Castanon in the eleventh round. This was his first time losing by knockout.

Winning a World Title

A few months later, in December 1977, Cecilio Lastra had the biggest fight of his life. He challenged Rafael Ortega for the WBA world featherweight title. This exciting match took place in Santander, with about 6,300 fans cheering him on!

Ortega, who was from Panama, was knocked down in the second round. Lastra landed a strong left jab to his nose. Even though Ortega got back up, Lastra fought bravely for all fifteen rounds. The judges made a "split decision," meaning they didn't all agree, but two of them voted for Lastra. This made Cecilio Lastra a world champion!

Defending His Title and Later Fights

For his first world title defense, Lastra traveled to Panama City in April 1978. He fought a young boxer named Eusebio Pedroza. Pedroza was very strong and knocked Lastra down three times during the fight. In the thirteenth round, Pedroza won by "technical knockout," which means the referee stopped the fight because Lastra couldn't safely continue.

Cecilio Lastra never fought for a world title again after that. He did challenge Roberto Castanon two more times for the EBU title, but he lost both matches. His last professional fight was in July 1982, where he lost to Amalio Galan. After this, he retired from boxing.

See also

In Spanish: Cecilio Lastra para niños