| Niño Valdés | |
| Realname: | Geraldo Ramos Ponciano Valdés |
| Weight: | Heavyweight |
| Height: | 6feet |
| Reach: | 78inches |
| Birth Date: | December 5, 1924 |
| Birth Place: | Havana, Cuba |
| Death Place: | New York City, US |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 70 |
| Wins: | 48 |
| Ko: | 36 |
| Losses: | 18 |
| Draws: | 3 |
| No Contests: | 1 |
Niño Valdés (born Geraldo Ramos Ponciano Valdés, also known as Nino Valdés) (December 5, 1924 – June 3, 2001) was a Cuban professional boxer who was Cuba's national heavyweight boxing champion in the 1940s and 1950s. Statistical boxing website BoxRec rates Valdés as the 8th best Cuban boxer ever across all weight divisions.[1]
Valdés was a top contender for the heavyweight title during the mid 1950s, although he never received a shot due to his mixed results in the ring. Ring Magazine ranked Valdez as high as the #2 contender in its annual rankings for 1958 and he was highly ranked in several other years.[2] After a string of four losses to notable fighters such as Harold Johnson, Archie Moore, and Bob Baker in 1952 and 1953, he went undefeated in an impressive run of 11 consecutive victories which saw him defeat Ezzard Charles and Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson. However, the streak came to an end when he lost a rematch to Moore by a fifteen-round unanimous decision on May 2, 1955. He lost another fight to Bob Satterfield three months later. After beating former title contender Don Cockell, he lost a ten-round unanimous decision to Bob Baker on December 7, 1955, costing him a potential title bout against Rocky Marciano.
He continued boxing, losing to heavyweight contenders Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, and Sonny Liston. After defeating contender Brian London in December 1959, Valdés retired due to eye problems.
After retirement, he worked as a security guard and a bouncer.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Age | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | Win | 48–18–3 | Brian London | RTD | 7 (10) | Dec 1, 1959 | |||
| 69 | Loss | 47–18–3 | Sonny Liston | KO | 3 (10) | Aug 5, 1959 | |||
| 68 | Loss | 47–17–3 | Alonzo Johnson | UD | 10 | May 29, 1959 | |||
| 67 | Win | 47–16–3 | Danny Hodge | TKO | 8 (10) | Apr 28, 1959 | |||
| 66 | Loss | 46–16–3 | Charlie Powell | TKO | 8 (10) | Mar 4, 1959 | |||
| 65 | Win | 46–15–3 | Pat McMurtry | TKO | 1 (10) | Dec 19, 1958 | |||
| 64 | Win | 45–15–3 | Mike DeJohn | SD | 10 | Aug 15, 1958 | |||
| 63 | Win | 44–15–3 | Harold Carter | TKO | 9 (10) | Jul 9, 1958 | |||
| 62 | Win | 43–15–3 | Johnny Summerlin | KO | 5 (10) | May 24, 1958 | |||
| 61 | Win | 42–15–3 | Mike DeJohn | SD | 10 | Apr 23, 1958 | |||
| 60 | Win | 41–15–3 | Wayne Bethea | SD | 10 | Apr 3, 1958 | |||
| 59 | Loss | 40–15–3 | Alex Miteff | SD | 10 | Feb 21, 1958 | |||
| 58 | Win | 40–14–3 | Jeff Dyer | KO | 10 (10) | Nov 19, 1957 | |||
| 57 | Win | 39–14–3 | John Holman | UD | 10 | May 8, 1957 | |||
| 56 | Win | 38–14–3 | Joe Erskine | KO | 1 (10) | Feb 19, 1957 | |||
| 55 | Win | 37–14–3 | Hans Friedrich | TKO | 6 (10) | Dec 30, 1956 | |||
| 54 | Win | 36–14–3 | Dick Richardson | RTD | 8 (10) | Dec 4, 1956 | |||
| 53 | Win | 35–14–3 | Bob Woodall | KO | 3 (10) | Oct 25, 1956 | |||
| 52 | Loss | 34–14–3 | Zora Folley | UD | 10 | Sep 25, 1956 | |||
| 51 | Loss | 34–13–3 | Eddie Machen | KO | 8 (10) | Jul 11, 1956 | |||
| 50 | Win | 34–12–3 | Ken Hammer | TKO | 8 (10) | Jun 1, 1956 | |||
| 49 | Loss | 33–12–3 | Eddie Machen | UD | 10 | Apr 16, 1956 | |||
| 48 | Loss | 33–11–3 | Bob Baker | UD | 10 | Dec 7, 1955 | |||
| 47 | Win | 33–10–3 | Don Cockell | RTD | 3 (10) | Sep 13, 1955 | |||
| 46 | Loss | 32–10–3 | Bob Satterfield | UD | 10 | Aug 17, 1955 | |||
| 45 | Loss | 32–9–3 | Archie Moore | PTS | 15 | May 2, 1955 | |||
| 44 | Win | 32–8–3 | Jack Flood | KO | 7 (10) | Jan 25, 1955 | |||
| 43 | Win | 31–8–3 | Jimmy Walls | KO | 2 (10) | Dec 11, 1954 | |||
| 42 | Win | 30–8–3 | Tommy Jackson | TKO | 2 (10) | Jul 14, 1954 | |||
| 41 | Win | 29–8–3 | Karel Sys | TKO | 4 (10) | May 22, 1954 | |||
| 40 | Win | 28–8–3 | James J. Parker | UD | 10 | Mar 12, 1954 | |||
| 39 | Win | 27–8–3 | Archie McBride | SD | 10 | Feb 20, 1954 | |||
| 38 | Win | 26–8–3 | Heinz Neuhaus | KO | 4 (10) | Nov 15, 1953 | |||
| 37 | Win | 25–8–3 | Matt Daniels | TKO | 2 (10) | Sep 29, 1953 | |||
| 36 | Win | 24–8–3 | Charley Williams | UD | 10 | Sep 15, 1953 | |||
| 35 | Win | 23–8–3 | Ezzard Charles | UD | 10 | Aug 11, 1953 | |||
| 34 | Win | 22–8–3 | Omelio Agramonte | TKO | 10 (12) | Jul 18, 1953 | |||
| 33 | Loss | 21–8–3 | Bob Baker | UD | 10 | May 21, 1953 | |||
| 32 | Loss | 21–7–3 | Billy Gilliam | SD | 10 | Apr 20, 1953 | |||
| 31 | Loss | 21–6–3 | Archie Moore | UD | 10 | Mar 11, 1953 | |||
| 30 | Loss | 21–5–3 | Harold Johnson | UD | 10 | Nov 24, 1952 | |||
| 29 | Win | 21–4–3 | Jimmy Walker | KO | 6 (8) | Jun 13, 1952 | |||
| 28 | Draw | 20–4–3 | Joe McFadden | PTS | 8 | Mar 29, 1952 | |||
| 27 | Win | 20–4–2 | Sandy McPherson | UD | 8 | Feb 28, 1952 | |||
| 26 | Win | 19–4–2 | Keene Simmons | UD | 10 | Feb 7, 1952 | |||
| 25 | Win | 18–4–2 | Joe McFadden | KO | 7 (8) | Jan 4, 1952 | |||
| 24 | Win | 17–4–2 | Aldo Rodriguez | TKO | 1 (8) | Sep 23, 1950 | |||
| 23 | Win | 16–4–2 | Juan Carlos Vigo | KO | 1 (8) | Aug 19, 1950 | |||
| 22 | Win | 15–4–2 | Tommy Bevil | TKO | 3 (10) | Feb 21, 1950 | |||
| 21 | Loss | 14–4–2 | Archie McBride | PTS | 8 | Nov 26, 1948 | |||
| 20 | Win | 14–3–2 | Doc Bee | PTS | 6 | Nov 15, 1948 | |||
| 19 | Draw | 13–3–2 | Jimmy Freeman | PTS | 6 | Oct 19, 1948 | |||
| 18 | 13–3–1 | Cheo Morejon | NC | 5 (10) | Jul 19, 1947 | ||||
| 17 | Win | 13–3–1 | Aldo Rodriguez | PTS | 8 | Jun 28, 1947 | |||
| 16 | Win | 12–3–1 | Kid Carbajal | KO | 7 (10) | Sep 19, 1946 | |||
| 15 | Draw | 11–3–1 | Cheo Morejon | PTS | 10 | Mar 9, 1946 | |||
| 14 | Win | 11–3 | Federico Malibran | KO | 8 (12) | Dec 8, 1945 | |||
| 13 | Loss | 10–3 | Federico Malibran | KO | 4 (12) | Sep 15, 1945 | |||
| 12 | Win | 10–2 | Epifanio Perez | KO | 2 (8) | Sep 24, 1944 | |||
| 11 | Loss | 9–2 | Mario Raul Ochoa | PTS | 8 | Sep 3, 1944 | |||
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Andres Ferrer | KO | 2 (8) | Jul 30, 1944 | |||
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Julio Lazaro Diaz | TKO | 7 (10) | Apr 3, 1943 | |||
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Benito Garcia Malpica | TKO | 2 (10) | Feb 20, 1943 | |||
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Andres Dominguez | KO | 2 (8) | Jan 20, 1943 | |||
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Jose Andres Hornedo | KO | 2 (6) | Oct 10, 1942 | |||
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | Epifanio Perez | KO | 2 (4) | Aug 15, 1942 | |||
| 4 | Loss | 3–1 | Julio Lazaro Diaz | KO | 3 (6) | May 30, 1942 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Wilfredo Ferrer | KO | 1 (6) | Mar 28, 1942 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Andres Dominguez | KO | 1 (6) | Jan 31, 1942 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Basilio Ayestaran | KO | 3 (6) | Dec 27, 1941 | |||