Alfredo Escalera


Alfredo "El Salsero" Escalera is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer and is the former World Boxing Council Super Featherweight world champion. A native of Carolina, his nickname was "Salsero" because he was a fan of Salsa music. Escalera and his nephew Jesus Manuel Escalera is also a 2023 Florida Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee.

Early boxing career

Escalera had his first professional bout on September 4, 1970, against Bob Payzant, in Portland. He won by a knockout in round four. He would suffer his first defeat in his third fight, when faced against Doug McClendon, who beat him by a decision in six rounds on January 26, 1971, in New York. He won five bouts in a row, and then lost by decision in eight rounds to future world title challenger Edwin Viruet.
He began 1972 by losing to another future world title challenger, Diego Alcala, by knockout in round eight, but he won his three other fights that year.
In 1973, he began, once again, by losing to another future world title challenger, Miguel Montilla, by a decision in ten rounds. Before the year was over, however, he was able to avenge that defeat, defeating Montilla by a knockout in round eight, and he won seven of his eight other fights that year.
By 1974, he began climbing up the super featherweight rankings, going 8-2 that year. He beat his own future world title challenger Sigfredo Rodriguez by a knockout in round one, and former world champion Ricardo Arredondo by a disqualification in round eight.

Champion

On July 4, 1975, he fought the WBC super featherweight champion Kuniaki Shibata in Mito, Japan, knocking Shibata out in round two to become the WBC super featherweight champion. Coincidentally, Escalera won his world title the same day that Angel Espada won the WBA world Welterweight championship at a fight that took place in Puerto Rico; this was the first time two Puerto Ricans became world champions the same day and as a consequence, Puerto Rico, a country that had only produced two world boxing champions in its history, doubled their number of champions in one day with Escalera and Espada's victories.
Escalera became a household name in Puerto Rico during his tenure as world champion. He appeared in television commercials and was a popular public figure.
He defended his title ten times, including wins over Ray Lunny, Sigfredo Rodriguez and Tyrone Everett. Most observers consider the Everett "win" as one of the worst decisions in boxing history, as it appeared that Everett clearly won. A rematch was being negotiated when Everett was murdered.
Escalera lost his title on January 28, 1978, to Alexis Argüello of Nicaragua by a technical knockout in round 13 in Bayamón. In this fight, Escalera suffered a broken nose and tooth, a cut on his tongue and above his left eye, and a closed right eye before submitting to Argüello. The first Arguello-Escalera encounter has been dubbed as "The Bloody Battle of Bayamon". The fight was described as "brutal".

Post-championship career

Escalera and Argüello had a rematch, on February 4, 1979, in Rimini, and Escalera held a small lead on the judges' cards after 12 rounds. However, he was knocked out in round 13 by Argüello. Shortly after drawing with Antonio Cruz in ten rounds in October of that year, he announced his retirement.
In 1980, Escalera dedicated himself to the sport of professional wrestling, competing on the Puerto Rican professional wrestling circuit. However, in 1981, he launched a boxing comeback. He lost to future world light welterweight champion Gene Hatcher in San Antonio, but he beat former world title challenger Maurice Termite Watkins at "The Battle of the Champions'" undercard in Miami, to complete his 1982 boxing campaign.
In 1983, he avenged his loss to Hatcher, scoring a ten-round unanimous decision win at the Roberto Durán-Davey Moore world title fight undercard in Madison Square Garden. On September 15 of that year he lost to future world title challenger Charlie White Lighting Brown.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
70LossCharlie BrownUD101983-09-15Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
69Win53–13–3Victor BabiloniaTKO5 1983-08-12Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S.
68Win52–13–3Gene HatcherUD10 1983-06-16Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
67Win51–13–3Martin RojasUD12 1983-05-13Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S.Won vacant WBC Continental Americas light welterweight title
66Win50–13–3Trad ThompsonKO3 1983-03-25Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S.
65Loss49–13–3Sergio MedinaUD10 1983-01-29Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
64Win49–12–3Maurice WatkinsUD10 1982-11-12Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, U.S.
63Win48–12–3Guillermo FernándezPTS10 1982-09-18Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
62Win47–12–3Johnny LiraMD10 1982-07-02Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
61Win46–12–3Jesús NavaKO7 1982-05-21Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
60Loss45–12–3Gene HatcherUD10 1982-04-09Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
59Win45–11–3Clemente MunozPTS10 1982-03-08San Juan, Puerto Rico
58Loss44–11–3Angel CruzSD10 1982-01-22Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
57Win44–10–3Johnny TorresKO8 1981-11-21Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S.
56Win43–10–3Ruby OrtizPTS10 1981-10-16Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
55Draw42–10–3Antonio CruzPTS10 1979-10-13San Juan, Puerto Rico
54Loss42–10–2Alexis ArgüelloTKO13 1979-02-04Sports Palace, Rimini, ItalyFor WBC super featherweight title
53Loss42–9–2Julio ValdezUD10 1978-10-27Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
52Win42–8–2Larry StantonTKO3 1978-07-26Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
51Win41–8–2Rogelio CastañedaUD10 1978-06-03Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
50Loss40–8–2Alexis ArgüelloTKO13 1978-01-28Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto RicoLost WBC super featherweight title
49Win40–7–2Sigfrido RodriguezUD15 1977-09-10Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
48Win39–7–2Carlos BecerrilKO8 May 16, 1977Capitol Center, Landover, Maryland, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
47Win38–7–2Ronnie McGarveyTKO6 1977-03-17Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
46Win37–7–2Tyrone EverettSD15 1976-11-30Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
45Win36–7–2Ray Lunny IIIRTD12 1976-09-18Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
44Win35–7–2Buzzsaw YamabeUD15 1976-07-01City Gym, Kashihara, JapanRetained WBC super featherweight title
43Win34–7–2Buzzsaw YamabeTKO6 1976-04-01City Gym, Kashihara, JapanRetained WBC super featherweight title
42Win33–7–2José FernandezTKO13 1976-02-20Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
41Win32–7–2Sven Erik PaulsenTKO9 1975-12-12Ekeberghallen, Oslo, NorwayRetained WBC super featherweight title
40Win31–7–2Gaétan HartKO6 1975-11-17San Juan, Puerto Rico
39Draw30–7–2Leonel HernandezSD15 1975-09-20Poliedro, Caracas, VenezuelaRetained WBC super featherweight title
38Win30–7–1Kuniaki ShibataKO2 1975-07-05Kasamatsu Athletic Park Gym, Hitachinaka, JapanWon WBC super featherweight title
37Draw29–7–1Francisco VillegasPTS10 1975-03-31San Juan, Puerto Rico
36Win29–7Mario RománTKO3 1975-02-24Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
35Loss28–7Mario RománTKO2 1974-12-14Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico
34Win28–6Rodriguez ValdezKO1 1974-11-29Puebla, Mexico
33Loss27–6Memo CruzPTS10 1974-10-28Oaxaca, Mexico
32Win27–5Eleuterio HerrnandezTKO8 1974-10-18Puebla, Mexico
31Win26–5Omar Ruben RealecioTKO5 1974-09-09San Juan, Puerto Rico
30Win25–5Ricardo ArredondoDQ8 1974-08-03San Juan, Puerto Rico
29Win24–5Armando MendozaTKO8 1974-05-30Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
28Win23–5Jorge RamosTKO5 1974-04-01San Juan, Puerto Rico
27Win22–5Sigfrido RodriguezKO1 1974-03-03San Juan, Puerto Rico
26Win21–5Stanley YanachekKO2 1974-02-04San Juan, Puerto Rico
25Win20–5Johnny CopelandTKO5 1973-12-17Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
24Win19–5Miguel MayanKO4 1973-11-30San Juan, Puerto Rico
23Win18–5Antonio AmayaPTS10 1973-11-12Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
22Win17–5José Luis LópezTKO6 1973-09-15San Juan, Puerto Rico
21Win16–5Frankie OteroTKO5 1973-08-21San Juan, Puerto Rico
20Win15–5Leo RandolphKO2 1973-07-21Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
19Win14–5Miguel MontillaTKO8 1973-07-14Caguas, Puerto Rico
18Win13–5Carlos GilKO1 1973-05-08San Juan, Puerto Rico
17Loss12–5Gino FebusPTS10 1973-04-28Country Club Stadium, Carolina, Puerto Rico
16Win12–4Rocky OrengoPTS10 1973-03-31San Juan, Puerto Rico
15Loss11–4Miguel MontillaPTS10 1973-03-03San Juan, Puerto Rico
14Win11–3Miguel MoralesPTS10 1972-09-18San Juan, Puerto Rico
13Win10–3Carlos PensonKO1 1972-07-14Ponce, Puerto Rico
12Win9–3Alejandro FalconKO7 1972-06-12San Juan, Puerto Rico
11Loss8–3Diego AlcalaKO8 1972-02-16Sunnyside Garden, Queens, New York, U.S.
10Win8–2Henry OcasioPTS8 1971-10-26Sunnyside Garden, Queens, New York, U.S.
9Loss7–2Edwin ViruetPTS8 1971-09-23Armory, Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
8Win7–1Reynald CantinPTS10 1971-09-14Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada
7Win6–1Eddie JamesMD6 1971-09-02Steelworkers Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
6Win5–1Henry OcasioPTS4 1971-07-26Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
5Win4–1Richie LugoPTS6 1971-03-30Sunnyside Garden, Queens, New York, U.S.
4Win3–1Jimmy JaynesPTS6 1971-03-24Harvard Club, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
3Loss2–1Doc McClendonPTS6 1971-01-26Sunnyside Garden, Queens, New York, U.S.
2Win2–0Red WalshUD4 1970-12-02Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
1Win1–0Bob PayzantTKO4 1970-09-24Exposition Building, Portland, Maine, U.S.

Retirement

After the Brown fight, Escalera announced his retirement from boxing once again. Shortly after, it was discovered that he had eyesight problems and had been fighting almost blinded for his last few fights.
Escalera now enjoys the fruits of his career in his farm in Puerto Rico. His son, Alfredo Escalera Jr., was once a boxer himself, who is based in Florida.

Legacy

The avid autograph signer left a boxing record of 53 wins, 14 losses and 3 draws, with 31 wins by knockout. His two fights with Argüello are considered by many to be boxing classics, Argüello-Escalera I making The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest fights of all time at number 67, and Argüello-Escalera II making it at number 40.