Aurelio Herrera Explained

Aurelio Herrera
Nickname:The Mexican Skullcrusher
The Mexican Wildcat
Nationality:American
Height:5 ft 4 in
Reach:63 in
Weight:
Birth Date:June 14[1] or June 17,[2] 1876
Birth Place:San Jose, California, U.S.
Style:Orthodox
Total:102;[3] with the inclusion of newspaper decisions
Wins:70
Ko:61
Losses:14
Draws:16
No Contests:2

Aurelio Herrera (June 14, 1876 – April 12, 1927) was an American professional boxer in the featherweight and lightweight divisions.

Aurelio Herrera is the first famous boxer of Latin American origin.[4] He was known for his aggressive fighting style and strong punch. Two-thirds of his fights were won by knockout. For this reason he was known by his two monikers, the Mexican Skullcrusher and the Mexican Wildcat[5]

He was born in San José to Mexican immigrants. He later moved to Bakersfield with his parents and siblings as a child where he worked harvesting grapes.

Boxing career

After his pro debut in 1895, Herrera amassed a record of 32–0–2 (32KO) and two newspaper decision victories before getting a chance for a world title. On May 29, 1901, in San Francisco, he challenged reigning featherweight champion Terry McGovern. Reports on the fight by The Evening Tribune stated that, "The fight had not progressed one minute of the first round before it became evident to all that McGovern was not making an effort to end the contest, but was content with buffeting Herrera about the ring at his pleasure."[6] By the fifth round, McGovern had thoroughly beaten the challenger to the point that Herrera would not rise from the knockdowns anymore. This defeat was the first defeat of Herrera's professional career. He went on one more significant winning streak before losing to other top contenders. On October 15, 1902, he lost to future featherweight champion Abe Attell in a 15-round decision to decide a contender for the vacant featherweight title. Attell skillfully avoided Herrera's strong blows and went on to win the vacant title the following year. In 1903, Herrera scored notable knockouts against Kid Broad and Eddie Santry. In March 1904, he again lost to Attell on points. On September 5 of the same year in Butte, Montana, he lost a hard-fought 20-round decision against Battling Nelson.

On January 12, 1906, in Los Angeles, Herrera's most notable victory came when he knocked out former featherweight world champion Young Corbett II in the fifth round. He fought a few more fights afterward and ended his career in 1909. Although he made a lot of money as a prizefighter, he squandered his fortune and in 1927 was sentenced to 10 days in jail for vagrancy. He died two months later,[4] two days after the death of Corbett.

Herrera fought a career total of 102 fights, of which he won 68, lost 12, drew 14 and had 2 no contests. In newspaper decisions he held a record of 2–2–1.

Fights against Hall of Famers

Despite not making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame himself, Herrera had a total of 6 fights and a record of 1–4–1 (1KO) versus HOF's having lost to Abe Attell (twice), Battling Nelson, and Terry McGovern. He drew against Harry Lewis and defeated Young Corbett II.[7]

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec,[8] unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted to the win/loss/draw column.

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
102Loss68–12–15 Dick HylandKO6 (10)Sep 23, 1909
101Loss68–11–15 Willie FitzgeraldPTS12May 12, 1908
100Win68–10–15 Kid GoodmanPTS15Sep 18, 1906
99Loss67–10–15 Charles NearyTKO7 (10)Aug 17, 1906
98Draw67–9–15 Kid HermanPTS20Feb 9, 1906
97Win67–9–14 Young Corbett IIKO5 (20)Jan 12, 1906
96Draw66–9–14 Eddie HanlonPTS20Nov 10, 1905
95Draw66–9–13 Kid WintersPTS15Jul 24, 1905
9466–9–12 Charles NearyNC1 (10)Jul 4, 1905
93Draw66–9–12 Charles NearyPTS10Jun 8, 1905
92Win66–9–11 Kid GoodmanPTS15May 17, 1905
91Draw65–9–11 Harry LewisNWS6May 6, 1905
90Win65–9–11 Tommy DalyPTS15Apr 21, 1905
89Loss64–9–11 Young ErneNWS6Apr 15, 1905
88Draw64–9–11 Tommy DalyPTS10Mar 16, 1905
87Draw64–9–10 Maurice SayersPTS6Jan 20, 1905
86Draw64–9–9 Maurice SayersPTS6Dec 23, 1904
8564–9–8 Young HermanND4Oct 26, 1904
84Win64–9–8 Kid TracyKO5 (10)Oct 7, 1904
83Loss63–9–8 Battling NelsonPTS20Sep 5, 1904
82Win63–8–8 Benny YangerKO8 (10)Jun 13, 1904
81Win62–8–8 Kid GoodmanPTS20May 17, 1904
80Win61–8–8 Louie LongPTS20May 11, 1904
79Loss60–8–8 Kid GoodmanNWS20Apr 21, 1904
78Win60–8–8 Kid FarmerKO1 (10)Apr 14, 1904
77Loss59–8–8 Abe AttellPTS6Mar 28, 1904
76Win59–7–8 Barney AbelKO3 (10)Mar 25, 1904
75Draw58–7–8 Benny YangerPTS6Mar 14, 1904
74Loss58–7–7 Louie LongTKO4 (20)Feb 12, 1904
73Draw58–6–7 Charles NearyPTS6Jan 22, 1904
72Draw58–6–6 Charles NearyPTS6Jan 8, 1904
71Loss58–6–5 Jack CordellPTS15Nov 17, 1903
70Win58–5–5 Eddie SantryKO13 (20)Oct 29, 1903
69Draw57–5–5 Louie LongPTS20Oct 15, 1903
68Win57–5–4 Jack DowneyKO1 (10)Jul 2, 1903
67Win56–5–4 Kid BroadKO4 (10)Jun 13, 1903
66Win55–5–4 Jack RichardsKO4 (10)May 16, 1903
65Win54–5–4 Cyclone JacksonKO2 (10)May 13, 1903
64Win53–5–4 Kid FredericksKO3 (20)May 8, 1903
63Win52–5–4 Jack RichardsKO4 (20)Apr 16, 1903
62Win51–5–4 Cyclone JohnsonKO1 (?)Apr 14, 1903
61Win50–5–4 Jack CliffordKO9 (10)Mar 16, 1903
60Win49–5–4 Tommy JacobsKO3 (20)Feb 23, 1903
59Win48–5–4 Jack MaddenTKO14 (15)Feb 19, 1903
58Win47–5–4 Wisconsin KidKO2 (10)Feb 16, 1903
57Win46–5–4 Jack KingsleyKO4 (10)Feb 13, 1903
56Win45–5–4 Kid OglesbyRTD10 (20)Feb 5, 1903
55Win44–5–4 George BakerPTS20Dec 17, 1902
54Win43–5–4 Caesar AttellKO2 (?)Nov 21, 1902
53Win42–5–4 Tommy HermanKO12 (12)Nov 15, 1902
52Win41–5–4 Caesar AttellKO3 (10)Nov 2, 1902
51Loss40–5–4 Abe AttellPTS15Oct 15, 1902
50Win40–4–4 Mike DuffyKO8 (10)Oct 3, 1902
49Win39–4–4 Young DempseyKO5 (10)Sep 19, 1902
48Win38–4–4 Jack LoweryKO7 (10)Aug 7, 1902
47Win37–4–4 Kid JohnsonKO4 (10)May 10, 1902
46Draw36–4–4 Tim HegartyPTS20Mar 18, 1902
45Win36–4–3 Kid ChambersKO3 (10)Mar 3, 1902
44Win35–4–3 Billy WilsonKO5 (10)Feb 10, 1902
43Loss34–4–3 Tim HegartyPTS20Jan 27, 1902
42Win34–3–3 George BakerPTS10Dec 17, 1901
41Win33–3–3 Tommy MowattKO3 (10)Sep 25, 1901
40Draw32–3–3 Tim HegartyPTS20Sep 5, 1901
39Loss32–3–2 Billy DeCourseyPTS20Sep 3, 1901
38Loss32–2–2 Tim HegartyPTS20Jul 15, 1901
37Loss32–1–2 Terry McGovernKO5 (20)May 29, 1901
36Win32–0–2 Toby IrwinKO8 (20)Apr 19, 1901
35Win31–0–2 Tommy CoxKO8 (10)Dec 8, 1900
34Draw30–0–2 Bob ThompsonPTS10Dec 3, 1900
33Win30–0–1 Harry JonesKO3 (10)Nov 21, 1900
32Win29–0–1 Harry JonesKO10 (?)Sep 22, 1900
31Win28–0–1 Gypsy KidKO7 (10)Aug 20, 1900
30Win27–0–1 Australian Jim RyanKO3 (10)Jun 12, 1900
29Win26–0–1 Crocky BoyleKO10 (10)Mar 14, 1900
28Win25–0–1 Watermelon KidKO2 (10)Feb 26, 1900
27Draw24–0–1 Tom SullivanPTS6Feb 11, 1900
26Win24–0 Joe Spider WelshKO7 (?)Feb 2, 1900
25Win23–0 Charley TodKO7 (10)Jan 15, 1900
24Win22–0 Kid ChambersKO3 (10)Dec 27, 1899
23Win21–0 Elmer ReaderKO3 (10)Nov 3, 1899
22Win20–0 Pat DalyKO14 (15)Oct 12, 1899
21Win19–0 Kid RempheryKO4 (10)Sep 12, 1899
20Win18–0 Billy DeCourseyTKO15 (20)Aug 21, 1899
19Win17–0 Pat DalyKO7 (10)Aug 10, 1899
18Win16–0 Jim BarryKO6 (?)Jun 12, 1899
17Win15–0 Biddy BishopKO3 (20)May 29, 1899
16Win14–0 Mike ThorntonKO6 (10)Feb 22, 1899
15Win13–0 Joe Spider WelshKO9 (10)Jan 17, 1899
14Win12–0 Jack HustonKO7 (10)Nov 25, 1898
13Win11–0 Jack NormanKO6 (6)Aug 12, 1898
12Win10–0 Dave HatchKO7 (?)Aug 7, 1898
11Win9–0 Jack McCormickKO4 (6)Jun 7, 1898
10Win8–0 Gypsy KidKO3 (?)Jan 14, 1898
9Win7–0 WilsonKO3 (?)Nov 25, 1897
8Win6–0 Fresno KidKO1 (?)Nov 2, 1897
7Win5–0 Charlie FookKO15 (?)Aug 23, 1897
6Win4–0 Pat DalyKO3 (?)Jun 19, 1897
5Win3–0 Mike ThorntonNWS6Oct 30, 1896
4Win3–0 Joe WelchRTD9 (15)Aug 14, 1896
3Win2–0 Joe WelchNWS4Jul 24, 1896
2Win2–0Charles ToddKO3 (?)Oct 14, 1895
1Win1–0Woo SingKO? (20)Aug 25, 1893

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions to the win/loss/draw column.

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
102Loss70–14–16 Dick HylandKO6 (10)Sep 23, 1909
101Loss70–13–16 Willie FitzgeraldPTS12May 12, 1908
100Win70–12–16 Kid GoodmanPTS15Sep 18, 1906
99Loss69–12–16 Charles NearyTKO7 (10)Aug 17, 1906
98Draw69–11–16 Kid HermanPTS20Feb 9, 1906
97Win69–11–15 Young Corbett IIKO5 (20)Jan 12, 1906
96Draw68–11–15 Eddie HanlonPTS20Nov 10, 1905
95Draw68–11–14 Kid WintersPTS15Jul 24, 1905
9468–11–13 Charles NearyNC1 (10)Jul 4, 1905
93Draw68–11–13 Charles NearyPTS10Jun 8, 1905
92Win68–11–12 Kid GoodmanPTS15May 17, 1905
91Draw67–11–12 Harry LewisNWS6May 6, 1905
90Win67–11–11 Tommy DalyPTS15Apr 21, 1905
89Loss66–11–11 Young ErneNWS6Apr 15, 1905
88Draw66–10–11 Tommy DalyPTS10Mar 16, 1905
87Draw66–10–10 Maurice SayersPTS6Jan 20, 1905
86Draw66–10–9 Maurice SayersPTS6Dec 23, 1904
8566–10–8 Young HermanND4Oct 26, 1904
84Win66–10–8Kid TracyKO5 (10)Oct 7, 1904
83Loss65–10–8Battling NelsonPTS20Sep 5, 1904
82Win65–9–8Benny YangerKO8 (10)Jun 13, 1904
81Win64–9–8Kid GoodmanPTS20May 17, 1904
80Win63–9–8Louie LongPTS20May 11, 1904
79Loss62–9–8Kid GoodmanNWS20Apr 21, 1904
78Win62–8–8Kid FarmerKO1 (10)Apr 14, 1904
77Loss61–8–8Abe AttellPTS6Mar 28, 1904
76Win61–7–8Barney AbelKO3 (10)Mar 25, 1904
75Draw60–7–8Benny YangerPTS6Mar 14, 1904
74Loss60–7–7Louie LongTKO4 (20)Feb 12, 1904
73Draw60–6–7Charles NearyPTS6Jan 22, 1904
72Draw60–6–6Charles NearyPTS6Jan 8, 1904
71Loss60–6–5Jack CordellPTS15Nov 17, 1903
70Win60–5–5Eddie SantryKO13 (20)Oct 29, 1903
69Draw59–5–5Louie LongPTS20Oct 15, 1903
68Win59–5–4Jack DowneyKO1 (10)Jul 2, 1903
67Win58–5–4Kid BroadKO4 (10)Jun 13, 1903
66Win57–5–4Jack RichardsKO4 (10)May 16, 1903
65Win56–5–4Cyclone JacksonKO2 (10)May 13, 1903
64Win55–5–4Kid FredericksKO3 (20)May 8, 1903
63Win54–5–4Jack RichardsKO4 (20)Apr 16, 1903
62Win53–5–4Cyclone JohnsonKO1 (?)Apr 14, 1903
61Win52–5–4Jack CliffordKO9 (10)Mar 16, 1903
60Win51–5–4Tommy JacobsKO3 (20)Feb 23, 1903
59Win50–5–4Jack MaddenTKO14 (15)Feb 19, 1903
58Win49–5–4Wisconsin KidKO2 (10)Feb 16, 1903
57Win48–5–4Jack KingsleyKO4 (10)Feb 13, 1903
56Win47–5–4Kid OglesbyRTD10 (20)Feb 5, 1903
55Win46–5–4George BakerPTS20Dec 17, 1902
54Win45–5–4Caesar AttellKO2 (?)Nov 21, 1902
53Win44–5–4Tommy HermanKO12 (12)Nov 15, 1902
52Win43–5–4Caesar AttellKO3 (10)Nov 2, 1902
51Loss42–5–4Abe AttellPTS15Oct 15, 1902
50Win42–4–4Mike DuffyKO8 (10)Oct 3, 1902
49Win41–4–4Young DempseyKO5 (10)Sep 19, 1902
48Win40–4–4Jack LoweryKO7 (10)Aug 7, 1902
47Win39–4–4Kid JohnsonKO4 (10)May 10, 1902
46Draw38–4–4Tim HegartyPTS20Mar 18, 1902
45Win38–4–3Kid ChambersKO3 (10)Mar 3, 1902
44Win37–4–3Billy WilsonKO5 (10)Feb 10, 1902
43Loss36–4–3Tim HegartyPTS20Jan 27, 1902
42Win36–3–3George BakerPTS10Dec 17, 1901
41Win35–3–3Tommy MowattKO3 (10)Sep 25, 1901
40Draw34–3–3Tim HegartyPTS20Sep 5, 1901
39Loss34–3–2Billy DeCourseyPTS20Sep 3, 1901
38Loss34–2–2Tim HegartyPTS20Jul 15, 1901
37Loss34–1–2Terry McGovernKO5 (20)May 29, 1901
36Win34–0–2Toby IrwinKO8 (20)Apr 19, 1901
35Win33–0–2Tommy CoxKO8 (10)Dec 8, 1900
34Draw32–0–2Bob ThompsonPTS10Dec 3, 1900
33Win32–0–1Harry JonesKO3 (10)Nov 21, 1900
32Win31–0–1Harry JonesKO10 (?)Sep 22, 1900
31Win30–0–1Gypsy KidKO7 (10)Aug 20, 1900
30Win29–0–1Australian Jim RyanKO3 (10)Jun 12, 1900
29Win28–0–1Crocky BoyleKO10 (10)Mar 14, 1900
28Win27–0–1Watermelon KidKO2 (10)Feb 26, 1900
27Draw26–0–1Tom SullivanPTS6Feb 11, 1900
26Win26–0Joe Spider WelshKO7 (?)Feb 2, 1900
25Win25–0Charley TodKO7 (10)Jan 15, 1900
24Win24–0Kid ChambersKO3 (10)Dec 27, 1899
23Win23–0Elmer ReaderKO3 (10)Nov 3, 1899
22Win22–0Pat DalyKO14 (15)Oct 12, 1899
21Win21–0Kid RempheryKO4 (10)Sep 12, 1899
20Win20–0Billy DeCourseyTKO15 (20)Aug 21, 1899
19Win19–0Pat DalyKO7 (10)Aug 10, 1899
18Win18–0Jim BarryKO6 (?)Jun 12, 1899
17Win17–0Biddy BishopKO3 (20)May 29, 1899
16Win16–0Mike ThorntonKO6 (10)Feb 22, 1899
15Win15–0Joe Spider WelshKO9 (10)Jan 17, 1899
14Win14–0Jack HustonKO7 (10)Nov 25, 1898
13Win13–0Jack NormanKO6 (6)Aug 12, 1898
12Win12–0Dave HatchKO7 (?)Aug 7, 1898
11Win11–0Jack McCormickKO4 (6)Jun 7, 1898
10Win10–0Gypsy KidKO3 (?)Jan 14, 1898
9Win9–0WilsonKO3 (?)Nov 25, 1897
8Win8–0Fresno KidKO1 (?)Nov 2, 1897
7Win7–0Charlie FookKO15 (?)Aug 23, 1897
6Win6–0Pat DalyKO3 (?)Jun 19, 1897
5Win5–0Mike ThorntonNWS6Oct 30, 1896
4Win4–0Joe WelchRTD9 (15)Aug 14, 1896
3Win3–0Joe WelchNWS4Jul 24, 1896
2Win2–0Charles ToddKO3 (?)Oct 14, 1895
1Win1–0Woo SingKO? (20)Aug 25, 1893

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Aurelio Herrera - BoxRec .
  2. Web site: Aurelio Herrera- Boxing's First Latino Superstar – IBRO .
  3. Web site: Please login.
  4. Web site: AURELIO HERRERA - Boxing's First Latino Superstar. Douglas Cavanaugh. International Boxing Research Organization. 2011-07-27. 2013-01-26. en.
  5. News: Newman . Harry . December 11, 1921 . "Herrera? A Mexican Wildcat, a Real Battler" . February 10, 2024 . Daily News . 1.
  6. Web site: May 29, 1901: McGovern vs Herrera -- Terrible Terry & the Skull Crusher . May 29, 2021.
  7. Web site: Old Timer.
  8. Web site: Please login.