| Ernesto España | |
| Birth Date: | November 7, 1954 |
| Birth Place: | La Flor, Venezuela |
| Weight: | Lightweight |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in |
| Reach: | 72 in |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 44 |
| Wins: | 36 |
| Ko: | 29 |
| Losses: | 8 |
Ernesto España (born November 7, 1954) is a Venezuelan former professional boxer who held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship in 1979 and 1980.
España became a professional boxer in 1975 and won all of his bouts except one, including one in 1981, when he beat future champion Arturo Frias. España fought Claude Noel on June 16, 1979, for the vacant WBA lightweight title that had been given up by Roberto Durán. España knocked out Noel in the thirteenth round to win the title. He defended it once, recuperating from a knockdown in round seven before knocking out Johnny Lira in round nine of a fight which has been showcased on ESPN Classic, before losing the title to Hilmer Kenty by knockout in round nine in March 1980. In a rematch in September, Kenty knocked España out again, this time in the fourth round.
For a period during this era, España was a resident of Puerto Rico.
When Frias won the WBA lightweight title, España challenged him but Frias avenged his only loss and won a technical decision over España in 1982.[1]
España's next fight was another challenge for the WBA lightweight title, but this time Ray Mancini knocked him out in six rounds in July 1982.[2] España never challenged for a world title again and retired in 1988.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, Time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | Loss | 36–8 | Michael Benjamin | UD | 12 | Aug 29, 1988 | |||
| 43 | Loss | 36–7 | Lester Ellis | UD | 10 | Mar 13, 1987 | |||
| 42 | Win | 36–6 | Junel Rodriguez | PTS | 12 | Jun 1, 1985 | |||
| 41 | Loss | 35–6 | Rafael Williams | MD | 10 | Jan 19, 1985 | |||
| 40 | Loss | 35–5 | Ray Mancini | TKO | 6 (15), | Jul 24, 1982 | |||
| 39 | Loss | 35–4 | Arturo Frias | TD | 9 (15), | Jan 30, 1982 | |||
| 38 | Win | 35–3 | Eduardo Iriarte | PTS | 10 | Nov 17, 1981 | |||
| 37 | Win | 34–3 | Jose Rosas | TKO | 5 (10) | Oct 26, 1981 | |||
| 36 | Win | 33–3 | Alvin Fowler | TKO | 3 (10) | Aug 24, 1981 | |||
| 35 | Win | 32–3 | Jong Kil Chung | TKO | 6 (10) | Jul 20, 1981 | |||
| 34 | Win | 31–3 | Arturo Frias | MD | 10 | May 30, 1981 | |||
| 33 | Win | 30–3 | Jose Ortiz | KO | 2 (10) | May 9, 1981 | |||
| 32 | Win | 29–3 | Ki Hoon Kwak | KO | 5 (10) | Apr 13, 1981 | |||
| 31 | Win | 28–3 | Eduardo Iriarte | PTS | 10 | Feb 21, 1981 | |||
| 30 | Loss | 27–3 | Hilmer Kenty | TKO | 4 (15), | Sep 20, 1980 | |||
| 29 | Loss | 27–2 | Hilmer Kenty | TKO | 9 (15), | Mar 2, 1980 | |||
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Johnny Lira | RTD | 9 (15), | Aug 4, 1979 | |||
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Claude Noel | KO | 13 (15) | Jun 16, 1979 | |||
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Eddie Bracetty | TKO | 1 (10) | Mar 25, 1979 | |||
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Fernando Jimenez | TKO | 6 (10) | Feb 19, 1979 | |||
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Johnny Barr | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 28, 1978 | |||
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Bienvenido Quinto | TKO | 1 (10) | Sep 9, 1978 | |||
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Tony Arias | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 12, 1978 | |||
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Teodoro Osuna | KO | 1 (10) | Jul 8, 1978 | |||
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Gerardo Aceves | KO | 2 (10) | Apr 22, 1978 | |||
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Angel Rosas | TKO | 3 (10) | Aug 27, 1977 | |||
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Salvador Torres | KO | 1 (10) | Jul 3, 1977 | |||
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Milton Mendez | KO | 1 (10) | May 15, 1977 | |||
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Isaac Marin | TKO | 5 (10) | Jan 30, 1977 | |||
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Ricardo Arredondo | PTS | 10 | Nov 14, 1976 | |||
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Andres Fernandez | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 16, 1976 | |||
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Rolando Martinez | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 29, 1976 | |||
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Clemente Mucino | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 22, 1976 | |||
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Julio Pena | TKO | 1 (10) | Jul 11, 1976 | |||
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Juan Sarmiento | TKO | 3 (10) | Jun 13, 1976 | |||
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Luis Beltran Rodriguez | PTS | 10 | Mar 6, 1976 | |||
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Danton Morillo | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 28, 1976 | |||
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Cesar Chavez | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 18, 1976 | |||
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Ruben Arias | KO | 1 (6) | Nov 17, 1975 | |||
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | Luis Romero | TKO | 2 (6) | Oct 4, 1975 | |||
| 4 | Loss | 3–1 | Luis Beltran Rodriguez | PTS | 6 | Aug 25, 1975 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Freddy Briceno | TKO | 3 (6) | Aug 8, 1975 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jose Figuerero | PTS | 4 | Jul 14, 1975 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Hernan Rodriguez | TKO | 1 (4) | Mar 17, 1975 |
His brother Crisanto España won the WBA world welterweight title in the early 1990s, when he beat Meldrick Taylor and lost it in his third defense to Ike Quartey.
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