Rodrigo Valdez facts for kids

Rodrigo Valdez (born February 22, 1946 – died March 15, 2017) was a famous Colombian professional boxer. He was known as "Rocky." He boxed from 1963 to 1980.

Valdez was a champion two times in the middleweight boxing division. He held the WBC title from 1974 to 1976. Later, he won the undisputed (meaning everyone agreed he was the best) WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles from 1977 to 1978.

His fights with Carlos Monzón are considered some of the most exciting in boxing history. Many people think Rodrigo Valdez, Antonio Cervantes, and Miguel "Happy" Lora are the three best boxers ever from Colombia. The Ring magazine also listed him as one of the top 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Rodrigo Valdez's Boxing Journey

Rodrigo Valdez was born in Bolívar, Colombia. He started his professional boxing career on October 25, 1963. His first fight was in Cartagena, and he won against Orlando Pineda.

He won his next eight fights in a row. But on October 2, 1965, he lost for the first time. Rudy Escobar beat him by knockout.

After that loss, Valdez went on another amazing winning streak. He fought fifteen times without losing. He won thirteen of those fights and had two draws (ties).

His first fight outside Colombia was in Ecuador on February 16, 1969. He lost that fight. After one more fight in Cartagena, he moved to the United States. He wanted to become more famous. From 1969 to 1970, he fought in New York, Nevada, and California. He won seven fights and lost two there. Then, he went back to Colombia and won four more fights.

Fighting Through Sickness

On August 9, 1971, Valdez fought Bobby Cassidy in New York City. Valdez won by knockout. But after the fight, they found out Cassidy had hepatitis A, a type of liver infection. Sadly, Valdez also caught the disease.

Even though he was sick and had to be quarantined, Valdez kept training. He was so determined that he won two more fights within three months of getting sick!

Valdez won nineteen fights in a row. Then he faced Bennie Briscoe for a regional title in New Caledonia on September 1, 1973. Valdez won that fight. This win made him one of the top middleweight boxers in the world. After this, Valdez wanted to fight the world champion, Carlos Monzón.

Becoming a World Champion

Valdez won two more fights. The WBC then made him the top challenger for Monzón's title. But Monzón did not want to fight Valdez right away. So, the WBC took away Monzón's world title. (Monzón still had the WBA title.)

The WBC decided that Valdez and Briscoe should fight again. This time, it was for the WBC world middleweight title. On May 25, 1974, in Monte Carlo, Valdez became a world champion for the first time! He knocked out Briscoe in the seventh round. Valdez successfully defended his title against Rudy Valdez, Gratien Tonna, and Max Cohen. Finally, Monzón agreed to fight him.

Just one week before their big fight, on June 19, 1976, something terrible happened. Valdez's brother was murdered in Colombia. Valdez was already in Monte Carlo for the fight. He wanted to go home to his family. But he had signed a contract to fight Monzón, so he had to stay.

On June 26, Valdez fought Monzón. Many people watching felt Valdez was not focused. He lost the fight to Monzón after 15 rounds. Monzón won by a unanimous decision. Valdez then went back to Colombia and won two more fights.

The WBA and WBC understood that Valdez was going through a tough time during his first fight with Monzón. So, they ordered a second fight between them. They fought again on July 30, 1977, also in Monte Carlo. This time, Valdez knocked Monzón down in the second round. Valdez was the only boxer to ever knock Monzón down in his long career! Valdez was winning after seven rounds. But Monzón fought back strongly at the end. Monzón won the fight by a very close decision.

After Monzón's Retirement

After their second fight, Monzón announced he was retiring from boxing. So, the world middleweight championship became empty. Valdez and Briscoe fought for the title again on November 5, 1977. The fight was in Campione d'Italia. Valdez won by decision after 15 rounds and became the undisputed world middleweight champion again!

However, he lost his title in his very first defense. On April 22, 1978, he lost to another Argentine boxer, Hugo Corro, in Sanremo, Italy. Corro won by points after 15 rounds.

They had a rematch on November 11, 1978, in Buenos Aires. Corro won again after 15 rounds, keeping his world title.

Retirement

Valdez fought only two more times after that. He won both fights by knockout. After beating Gilberto Amonte in the first round on November 28, 1980, he decided to retire from boxing for good.

Rodrigo Valdez finished his professional boxing career with an impressive record. He had 63 wins, 8 losses, and 2 draws. Out of his 63 wins, 42 were by knockout!

Death

Rodrigo Valdez passed away on March 14, 2017, in Cartagena, Colombia. He died from a heart attack. The mayor of Cartagena, Manuel Duque, said that Valdez was "one of the greatest Colombian sportsmen of all time."

See also

In Spanish: Rodrigo Valdez para niños

• Afro-Colombians
• WBC Legends of Boxing Museum
• List of world middleweight boxing champions