| Vicente Saldivar | |
| Realname: | Vicente Samuel Saldivar García |
| Birth Date: | May 3, 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Death Place: | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Nickname: | El Zurdo de Oro (The Golden Southpaw) |
| Weight: | Featherweight |
| Height: | 5 ft 3 in |
| Reach: | 66+1/2 in |
| Style: | Southpaw |
| Total: | 40 |
| Wins: | 37 |
| Ko: | 26 |
| Losses: | 3 |
Vicente Samuel Saldívar García (May 3, 1943 – July 18, 1985) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed between 1961 and 1973. He was a two-time featherweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles from 1964 until his retirement in 1967. He came back and once again held the WBC and The Ring titles in 1970. Saldivar has frequently been ranked amongst the greatest in the history of that division by many noted boxing historians and critics.[1] He currently holds the record for the most wins in unified featherweight title bouts and the longest unified featherweight championship reign in boxing history at 8 title bouts and 7 title defenses respectively. Saldívar fought in front of the fourth largest crowd ever, 90,000 in Estadio Azteca, and has also regularly been cited as one of the finest left-handed fighters of all time.[2]
Saldívar was born in one of the many poor quarters of Mexico City and is one of seven children. He used to get in fights on the streets and in school, so his father decided to channel the misguided energy into boxing.[3] Like many other Mexicans his father was a big boxing fan, so it was a logical move. He was taught by Jose Moreno,[4] a veteran trainer of a nearby Mexico City boxing gym.[5]
As a southpaw, Saldívar was a dynamic fighter in the ring. He could box or brawl, and often softened opponents with a brutal body attack. Among his greatest assets was his stamina; he scored seven knockouts after the 7th round. Saldívar had an unusually slow heart and pulse rate, which he claimed was the secret of the phenomenal pace he was able to maintain in the ring.[6] [7]
Saldívar had a successful amateur career, crowned with a Mexican Golden Gloves title at bantamweight. At seventeen years old, he was included into the 1960 Olympic team, but was eliminated in the first bout of the Rome tournament by Ernst Chervet of Switzerland.[8]
Saldívar turned professional in 1961 and won the Mexican featherweight title with a second-round knockout of Juan Ramírez on February 8, 1964. His first major victory came on June 1 of that same year when he defeated future lightweight champion and hall of fame member Ismael Laguna. Before challenging for a world title, he accumulated a record of 25–1, with his sole loss avenged by knockout.
On September 26, 1964, Saldívar won the WBA and WBC Featherweight titles by upsetting fellow Mexican fighter and future hall of famer Sugar Ramos with an 11th-round knockout in an extremely bloody battle. His first reign as champion would last three years, in which Saldívar made eight successful title defenses. The reign was highlighted by his trilogy with Howard Winstone.[9]
In his first title defense, he defeated future champion Raul Rojas. On September 7, 1965, he defeated Winstone in their first meeting with a 15-round decision . Following that victory, he defeated Floyd Robertson by second round knock out. He then defeated Mitsunori Seki in two consecutive bouts. On June 15, 1967, Saldívar defeated Winston once again by a 15-round decision. In 1996, Ring magazine included their second meeting on their list of the 100 greatest title fights of all-time.[10] In the final installment of their trilogy, he defeated Winston by 12th round knock out.[11] Saldivar announced his retirement after that contest in October 1967. Three months later, Winstone won recognition as WBC featherweight champion, claiming the belt left vacant by Saldivar, by defeating Mitsunori Seki with a 9th-round stoppage due to a cut right eye.
After 21 months of inactivity, Saldívar returned to the ring on July 18, 1969, and won a 10-round unanimous decision over another former as well as future Featherweight champion, José Legra. Then on May 9, 1970, he regained the featherweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Johnny Famechon. This reign, however, was short-lived. Saldívar lost the crown seven months later in his first defense against Kuniaki Shibata.
He would fight once more before retiring again in 1971, however, the lure of the ring was too strong. He returned at the age of 30 after 2 years and 3 months of inactivity for another title attempt on October 21, 1973. His opponent was fellow Hall of Famer and former bantamweight champion Éder Jofre. Jofre, who was 37, had won the Featherweight crown after coming out of his own retirement (albeit a brief 7 month one). Saldívar's skills had greatly diminished and Jofre won the contest with a fourth-round knockout in Brazil. After the fight, Saldívar retired for good.[12] [13]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Loss | 37–3 | Éder Jofre | KO | 4 (15) | Oct 21, 1973 | |||
| 39 | Win | 37–2 | Frankie Crawford | UD | 10 | Jul 15, 1971 | |||
| 38 | Loss | 36–2 | Kuniaki Shibata | RTD | 12 (15) | Dec 11, 1970 | |||
| 37 | Win | 36–1 | Johnny Famechon | UD | 15 | May 9, 1970 | |||
| 36 | Win | 35–1 | José Legrá | UD | 10 | Jul 18, 1969 | |||
| 35 | Win | 34–1 | Howard Winstone | TKO | 12 (15) | Oct 14, 1967 | |||
| 34 | Win | 33–1 | Howard Winstone | PTS | 15 | Jun 15, 1967 | |||
| 33 | Win | 32–1 | Mitsunori Seki | TKO | 7 (15) | Jan 29, 1967 | |||
| 32 | Win | 31–1 | Mitsunori Seki | UD | 15 | Aug 7, 1966 | |||
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | Floyd Robertson | KO | 2 (15) | Feb 12, 1966 | |||
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Howard Winstone | PTS | 15 | Sep 7, 1965 | |||
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Raul Rojas | TKO | 15 (15) | May 7, 1965 | |||
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Delfino Rosales | TKO | 11 (12) | Dec 6, 1964 | |||
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Sugar Ramos | RTD | 12 (15) | Sep 26, 1964 | |||
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Ismael Laguna | UD | 10 | Jun 1, 1964 | |||
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Eduardo Guerrero | UD | 12 | Apr 4, 1964 | |||
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Juan Ramírez | TKO | 2 (12) | Feb 8, 1964 | |||
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Félix Gutiérrez | TKO | 3 (10) | Dec 16, 1963 | |||
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Beresford Francis | TKO | 2 (10) | Sep 21, 1963 | |||
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Eloy Sánchez | KO | 1 (10) | Jul 13, 1963 | |||
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Baby Luis | TKO | 8 (10) | Jun 15, 1963 | |||
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Dwight Hawkins | KO | 5 (10) | Apr 19, 1963 | |||
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Luis Hernández | KO | 2 (10) | Mar 16, 1963 | |||
| 17 | Loss | 16–1 | Baby Luis | TKO | 7 (10) | Dec 29, 1962 | |||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Jorge Salazar | KO | 5 (10) | Dec 16, 1962 | |||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | José López | PTS | 10 | Nov 17, 1962 | |||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Luis Hernández | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 11, 1962 | |||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Alberto Soto | TKO | 2 (10) | Aug 22, 1962 | |||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Indio Fernández | TKO | 6 (10) | Jun 27, 1962 | |||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Genaro González | DQ | 8 (10) | May 2, 1962 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Jorge Salazar | KO | 4 (10) | Apr 4, 1962 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Juan Zavala | KO | 10 (10) | Mar 18, 1962 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Rosendo Martínez | TKO | 5 (10) | Feb 8, 1962 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ernesto Beltrán | KO | 6 (10) | Jan 6, 1962 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Juan Rodríguez | TKO | 6 (10) | Dec 3, 1961 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | José Luis Mora | PTS | 10 | Oct 14, 1961 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Babe López | KO | 3 (8) | May 20, 1961 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Eduardo Meza | KO | 3 (8) | Apr 16, 1961 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Frijol González | KO | 4 (6) | Mar 22, 1961 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Baby Palacios | KO | 1 (6) | Feb 18, 1961 |
He died of cancer on July 18, 1985, aged only 42.[14] In 1999 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[15]
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