Rubén Olivares facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rubén Olivares |
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Olivares pictured in 2010
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| Real name | Rubén Olivares Avila |
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| Height | 5 ft 5+1/2 in |
| Reach | 67 in |
| Born | 14 January 1947 Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 105 |
| Wins | 89 |
| Wins by KO | 79 |
| Losses | 13 |
| Draws | 3 |
Rubén Olivares Avila (born January 14, 1947) is a famous Mexican former professional boxer. Many people consider him one of the greatest bantamweight boxers ever. He is also a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Rubén Olivares was a world champion many times. He was very popular in Mexico. People often called him "El Púas" (The Thorns) or "Mr. Knockout." He also appeared in Mexican movies. He fought in over 100 professional boxing matches.
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Rubén Olivares' Boxing Journey
Rubén Olivares started his professional boxing career when he was just 17 years old. His first fight was in Cuernavaca. He won by knocking out Freddy García in the first round. This win began an amazing streak of 22 knockout victories in a row!
During this time, he beat boxers like Tony Gallegos and Antonio Leal. On March 8, 1967, Felipe González was the first boxer to last all 10 rounds against Olivares. Olivares won that fight by a decision. Later that year, on July 29, he had his first draw (a tie) against Germán Bastidas.
Olivares then had rematches with both González and Bastidas. He knocked out González in the sixth round. He also knocked out Bastidas in the fourth round. After these wins, he faced a tougher opponent, former world champion Salvatore Burruni. Olivares knocked out Burruni in just three rounds. He then started another long streak of 21 knockout wins. During this streak, he won his first fight outside Mexico. He beat Bernabé Fernández in Los Angeles. On May 23, 1969, he defeated Olympic gold medalist Takao Sakurai.
Becoming a Bantamweight World Champion
Rubén Olivares had an incredible record of 51 wins, 0 losses, and 1 draw. This led him to his first world title fight. He challenged the world bantamweight champion, Lionel Rose, at the Inglewood Forum in California. Olivares became the world bantamweight champion by knocking out Rose in the fifth round. This happened on August 22, 1969.
After winning the title, Olivares defended it against Alan Rudkin. Then, he began a famous series of three fights with his rival, Chucho Castillo. In their first match, Olivares was knocked down. But he got back up and won by a 15-round decision. This fight ended his long knockout streak.
On October 16, 1970, Olivares and Castillo fought again. Olivares got a cut early in the fight. The fight was stopped in the 14th round. Castillo won by a technical knockout (TKO) and became the new champion. This was Olivares' first loss in his 62-fight career.
Their third and final fight happened on April 3, 1971. Olivares was knocked down again, but he rose to win back his world bantamweight title. He won by another 15-round decision. After this, he had six more knockout wins in a row. One of these was a tough fight against Kazuyoshi Kanazawa in Japan. Olivares knocked Kanazawa down three times in the 14th round to win. He also beat former champions Efren Torres and Jesus Pimentel.
On March 19, 1972, Olivares lost his bantamweight title to another Mexican boxer, Rafael Herrera. Herrera won by knockout in the eighth round. They fought again later, and Herrera won by decision.
Moving to Featherweight Boxing
After losing his bantamweight title, Olivares decided to move up to the Featherweight division. His first fight in this new weight class was against Walter Seeley, which he won. On June 23, 1973, he faced future champion Bobby Chacon for the first time. This fight was for the NABF featherweight title. Olivares knocked out Chacón in the ninth round.
In his next fight, Olivares faced an unexpected loss. An unknown boxer named Art Hafey knocked him out in five rounds. But Olivares quickly bounced back. He won three more fights, including a rematch against Hafey, which he won by decision. After these wins, he got a chance to fight for the vacant (empty) WBA world Featherweight championship.
Winning the Featherweight World Titles
On July 9, 1974, Rubén Olivares became the world Featherweight champion. He beat Zenzuke Utagawa by knockout in the seventh round. After two more wins, he faced Alexis Argüello on November 23, 1974. Olivares lost his world title by knockout in the 13th round. He was winning the fight, but he got tired and was eventually stopped.
After one more win, Olivares met Bobby Chacon again. This time, Chacón was the WBC's world Featherweight champion. Olivares won the fight by knockout in the second round. This made him a world champion for the fourth time! However, he lost this title in his very first defense. He was beaten by Ghana's David "Poison" Kotey. Kotey won by a 15-round decision, becoming Ghana's first world boxing champion. Olivares then lost another fight by knockout to future world champion Danny "Little Red" López.
In 1976, Olivares won two fights and lost one. He beat Fernando Cabanela but lost to José Cervantes. In 1977, Olivares and Chacón had their third and final fight. Chacón won this time by a 10-round decision. But in 1978, Olivares had a great comeback. He knocked out future two-time world Lightweight champion José Luis Ramírez in two rounds. He followed this with wins over Shig Fukuyama and Isaac Vega.
On April 22, 1979, he had a draw with Guillermo Morales. On July 21, 1979, he had his last chance at a world title. He was knocked out in 12 rounds by WBA world Featherweight champion Eusebio Pedroza. After this, he fought sometimes for eight more years. He finally retired from boxing in 1988.
Rubén Olivares' Boxing Record
| 105 fights | 89 wins | 13 losses |
| By knockout | 79 | 9 |
| By decision | 9 | 4 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 3 | |
Rubén Olivares' Legacy
For a long time, Rubén Olivares was known as Mexico's best boxer. This was before Julio César Chávez became famous. Olivares was a huge star. He was friends with many people in the Mexican entertainment world. He often appeared in funny Mexican movies. He is still seen as a national hero in Mexico.
Olivares acted in 12 films. One of them was "Las Glorias del Gran Puas" (The Glories of the Great Thorns) from 1984. This movie was based on Olivares' life story.
Olivares finished his career with 89 wins, 13 losses, and 3 draws. An amazing 79 of his wins were by knockout! He had two long knockout streaks: one with 22 wins and another with 21 wins. These are some of the longest knockout streaks in boxing history. His 78 knockout wins put him in a special group of boxers. In 2003, The Ring magazine named him the twelfth greatest puncher of all time.
Rubén Olivares is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In 1999, the Associated Press voted him as the number one bantamweight of the 20th century, along with Carlos Zárate.
Images for kids
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Rubén Olivares in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Rubén Olivares para niños
- List of Mexican boxing world champions
- List of world bantamweight boxing champions
- List of world featherweight boxing champions
