Víctor Galíndez facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Víctor Galíndez
Statistics
Real name	Víctor Emilio Galíndez
Nickname(s)	El Leopardo de Morón
Rated at	Light heavyweight
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Nationality	Argentina
Born	(1948-11-02)2 November 1948 Vedia, Buenos Aires
Died	25 October 1980(1980-10-25) (aged 31) 25 de Mayo, Buenos Aires Province
Boxing record
Total fights	70
Wins	55
Wins by KO	34
Losses	9
Draws	4
No contests	2
Medal record Men's boxing Representing  Argentina Pan American Games Silver 1967 Winnipeg Light Middleweight

Víctor Emilio Galíndez (born November 2, 1948, in Vedia, Argentina – died October 25, 1980, in Veinticinco de Mayo, Buenos Aires) was a famous Argentine boxer. He made history as the third Latin American to win the world Light Heavyweight boxing championship. Before him, only Puerto Rico's José Torres and Venezuela's Vicente Rondon had achieved this.

Early Life and Amateur Boxing

Víctor Galíndez was born in 1948 in Vedia, a town in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. From a young age, he dreamed of becoming both a boxer and a stock car racer. However, boxing was his main passion.

As a young amateur boxer, he had a very good record, winning many of his fights. He even took part in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. There, he lost in an early round to Aldo Bentini from Italy. A year before the Olympics, in 1967, he won a silver medal at the Pan American Games. This showed he was a talented boxer even before turning professional.

Starting His Professional Career

Víctor Galíndez became a professional boxer on May 10, 1969. His first fight was in Buenos Aires, where he won by a knockout in the fourth round against Ramon Ruiz. After another win, he had his first draw (a tie) against Adolfo Cejas in Azul, Argentina.

In 1970, Galíndez had 10 fights. He won 5, lost 3, and had 1 draw and 1 "no contest" (a fight that doesn't count as a win or loss). He faced Juan Aguilar three times, losing twice. He also started a big rivalry with Jorge Ahumada, knocking him out in their first fight. He lost the Argentine Light Heavyweight title to Avenamar Peralta that year.

Becoming a World Champion

In 1973, Galíndez had a great year, winning seven of his eight fights and drawing one. He finally won Argentina's Light Heavyweight title by beating Juan Aguilar. He defended this title successfully several times.

By 1974, Galíndez was ready for bigger challenges. He beat former world title challenger Ray Anderson with a knockout in the second round. After six more wins, he got his first chance to fight for a world title. He faced Len Hutchins for the vacant WBA world Light Heavyweight championship.

Víctor Galíndez won the fight by a TKO (technical knockout) in the thirteenth round. This made him the WBA world Light Heavyweight champion. He joined José Torres and Vicente Rondon as the only Latin American Light Heavyweight world champions. He also became one of the few Argentine world champions of that time, alongside Carlos Monzón.

Defending His World Title

Before becoming a world champion, Galíndez had only fought in Argentina. But after winning the title, he became a traveling fighter, defending his championship around the world.

His first international fight and first title defense was in South Africa, where he beat Pierre Fourie. Next, he fought in Las Vegas, USA, winning by knockout. Then, he went to Madison Square Garden in New York, where he met his rival Jorge Ahumada for the fifth time. Galíndez won this important world title fight by decision. He returned to South Africa and beat Fourie again.

In 1976, he traveled to Norway, knocking out Harald Skog to keep his title. He also fought in Denmark and South Africa again, where he knocked out Richie Kates in the final round. He beat Kosie Smith in South Africa to defend his title once more.

In 1977, Galíndez continued to defend his title, often in Italy. He had a rematch with Kates in Rome and won. He then faced Yaqui López twice in Italy, winning both times. His last fight of 1977 was against future world champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (then Eddie Gregory), which he won by decision.

Losing and Regaining the Title

In 1978, Galíndez went to Italy again and successfully defended his title against Yaqui López in a rematch. After several non-title fights in Argentina, he faced Mike Rossman in New Orleans, USA. Galíndez lost his world title by knockout in the 13th round. This fight was on the same night that Muhammad Ali won back his world Heavyweight title.

In 1979, Galíndez had a rematch with Rossman in New Orleans. This time, Galíndez won back the world championship by knocking out Rossman in the 10th round! However, his second time as champion was short-lived. In his very first defense, he lost the title to Marvin Johnson by knockout in the 11th round. This fight also took place in New Orleans.

Víctor Galíndez had a professional boxing record of 52 wins, 9 losses, and 4 draws, with 2 no contests. He won 34 fights by knockout. He successfully defended his WBA world light heavyweight title ten times against seven different boxers. In 2002, he was honored by being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Tragic Death

After losing a rematch to Jesse Burnett in 1980, Víctor Galíndez had to stop boxing. He had two operations to fix problems with his eyes. After boxing, he decided to follow his other dream: becoming a stock car race driver.

On October 25, 1980, he took part in his first and last Turismo Carretera race as a co-driver. Sadly, his car had a mechanical problem early in the race. Galíndez and his driver, Antonio Lizeviche, were walking alongside the road towards the pits. Another race car lost control and hit them, causing their deaths instantly.