Pascual Pérez (boxer)


Pascual Nicolás Pérez was an Argentine flyweight boxer. Pérez was born in Tupungato in the Mendoza Province of Argentina, he went on to make history by becoming Argentina's first world boxing champion.
Pérez usually did poor at the ticket gates in Argentina after he became world champion, forcing him to defend his world title on the road many times and to become known as a world-traveling champion. His first international success was a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in United Kingdom.
He and Delfo Cabrera were the only two Argentines to be an Olympic gold medalists in the London Olympics of 1948. Perez reigned as World Champion from 1954 to 1960. As an amateur he fought 125 bouts. Turning professional in 1952, he fought 92 fights, in which he won 57 fights by knockout, a record that places him in an elite group of boxers who have won more than 50 fights by knockouts. He defended his title against nine contenders in a span of six years. He is considered one of the three greatest flyweight boxers in history alongside Miguel Canto and Jimmy Wilde. Along with Carlos Monzon, he is considered one of the best fighters ever to box. He has been inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In 2004, the American Boxing Confederation posthumously declared him the South American champion.

Early life

Pérez was born into a family of winemakers in the Uco Valley, Tupungato district of the Mendoza province, where he was the youngest of nine children. He worked as a laborer for the family since childhood. In 1942, at age 16, Perez started boxing at the Rodeo Deportivo de la Cruz, led by Felipe Segura, Perez showing superb skill and power, unusual for a lighter weight boxer. Though naturally left-handed he trained right-handed; his height, which only reached 1.52 m as an adult, was smaller than the rest of his opponents in the flyweight division.

Amateur career

He debuted as an amateur in January 1944 and would contest in 125 bouts winning 16 amateur championships, including the gold medal at the 1948 London Olympics. The first tournament he won was the Mendocino Novice Championship, in March 1944, just two months after his debut.
That same year, his father had to pay money to hire a farm laborer who could replace Perez in the vineyard, as a condition for granting legal consent required by the regulations on parental rights. His parents kept a reluctant attitude towards his plans, and he began fighting under the name Pablo Pérez to avoid being caught by them.
In 1946 and 1947, Pascual Perez won the Mendoza, Argentine and Latin American championships, and in 1948, he won the tournament where the Argentina Olympic boxing team was selected, every member of this team won medals at the Olympic Games.

London Olympics

In the 1948 London Olympics, Pascual Perez won the tenth Olympic gold medal for Argentina and the sixth for boxing. Perez had never fought outside of South America and was to compete in the same division with, and possibly fight against, the European champion, the Spanish Luis Martínez Zapata who, despite both him and Perez being respected by press and fans alike, was favored to win the gold. Initially Pascual Perez was mistakenly disqualified from the tournament when his official weight was mixed up with Arnoldo Parés, a boxer in a heavier class. However, after the confusion was cleared, Perez was cleared to box and the disqualification was rescinded.
Perez first faced the Filipino Ricardo Adolfo, winning by RSC in the second round. In the second match he faced the South African Desmond Williams, also winning by RSC, this time, in the third round. In the quarterfinals he defeated the Belgian Alex Bollaert and in the semifinals he beat the Czech František Majdloch.
In the finals, Pérez faced the Italian Spartacus Bandinelli, who had an upset victory in the quarterfinals over the favored Martínez Zapata. In the first round, Perez dominated the match with his aggressive style, controlling the initial offensive of the Italian, with several successions of punches landed, including a strong right he landed at the end of the round. The second round was very intense, with Bandinelli fighting aggressively to recover points and Perez answering blow for blow, using his greater mobility to score points with his left forehand, taking advantage of the Italian's tendency to keep his guard down. In the third round Perez again took the offensive from the start with a succession of direct left and right punches to Bandinelli's face. Momentum swung several times, eventually with the Italian taking the offensive. Then the Argentine stopped the Italian's counterattack with an uppercut, and the round ended with each exchanging blows in the center of the ring.
Felix Frascara of Figura magazine, covered the match and after Perez' victory commented:
Perez was labeled a hero in Mendoza, where the provincial parliament gave him a house and a job. Notably, in the next tournament held to select Argentine boxers for the 1952 Olympic Games, Perez lost a match by split decision, to Francisco Calvagno, being eliminated from the tournament. The chosen Argentine representative was Alberto Barenghi, who was eliminated in the first fight. After his removal, Perez decided to enter professional boxing, and two years later became the first world boxing champion from Argentina. His last amateur fight was November 14 of 1952, in the Golden Strip Club winning by points in five rounds against Paul Rapretti.

Professional career

Pérez made his professional career with manager Lazarus Koci, who also managed José María Mono Gatica, and reorganized professional boxing in Argentina.
On December 5, 1952, Pérez beat José Ciorino by knockout in round four at the small Argentine city of Gerly, to begin his professional boxing career. After winning his first six fights by knockout, he challenged Marcelo Quiroga on November 11 of 1953, for the Argentine Flyweight title, winning the fight by a fourth-round knockout at Buenos Aires.
Pérez's knockout streak reached 18 knockouts in a row, and it lasted until he met Juan Bishop, on April 22, 1954, winning by a ten-round decision.
On July 24 of that year, and with a record of 23 wins, no losses, with 22 wins by knockout, Pérez met Yoshio Shirai, who, coincidentally, had been Japan's first world champion in history, in a non-title fight held at Buenos Aires. The Argentine ambassador in Japan, Carlos Quiroz, at the direction of then-President Juan D. Peron, took steps to set up a match in Buenos Aires against Shirai, without the title at stake. The fight took ten rounds at Luna Park on July 24 of 1954, with the presence of President Perón, sitting ringside. The match ended tied and was an extraordinary event in the country, for the first time an Argentine professional boxer was not defeated by a world champion. The tie forced Yoshio Shirai, as was standard in the boxing world then, to grant a rematch against the Argentine boxer again in a fight with the title at stake.

Flyweight world title

On November 26 of 1954, Pérez fought what was both his first fight abroad outside the Olympics, and his first world title fight. The Argentine knocked down the champion in the 2nd round and again in the 12th, in which the champion returned to his corner almost knocked out. From rounds 13 - 15, Perez nearly knocked out Shirai several times. After the fight, the score reflected a wide difference unanimously in favor of the Argentine. Referee Jack Sullivan had it 146–139, Judge Bill Pacheco, 143–139, and judge Kuniharu Hayashi, 146-143 all in Perez' favor. He made history by beating Shirai by a fifteen-round decision, becoming Argentina's first world champion boxer, in Tokyo. Pascualito became the smallest flyweight boxer to win a title.
Over the course of Pérez's next fights, he would defend his title only nine times, lose for the first time, and fight in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Curaçao, Japan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Thailand, Uruguay and Venezuela. Many of his fights would have been title fights, but some of his opponents were not able to make the Flyweight division's 112 pound weight limit, so Pérez often had to settle for non-title wins instead. He lost his undefeated record to Japan's Sadao Yaoita on January 16 of 1959, by a ten-round decision in Tokyo. Among the fighters he defeated to retain his world title were Dai Dower, Dommy Ursua and Yaoita in a rematch, by a thirteenth-round knockout.
Pérez would lose his title to another first time world champion, Thailand's Pone Kingpetch, who made history for his country by beating Pérez by a fifteen-round decision at Bangkok on April 16, 1960. A rematch between Pérez and Kingpetch was fought on September 22 of the same year, at Los Angeles, but Pérez's first fight in the United States was also his first knockout defeat, as he was beaten in eight rounds by Kingpetch.

Later fights

Pérez won his next twenty-eight bouts, mostly against nondescript opposition but he did score a pair of victories over the once-promising but by then fading Uruguayan Waldemiro Torres. Then, after dropping a split decision to Filipino veteran Leo Zulueta and outpointing Panamanian journeyman Manuel Moreno in his next two bouts, he faced perennial world title contender Bernardo Caraballo in Colombia on July 23, 1963. Pérez lost by a ten-round decision.
He finished his career with fights in Ecuador, Mexico and Panama, going 1-2 including losing by third-round knockout to future world flyweight champion Efren Torres in his fight on Mexican soil. His final fight, at the age of 37, was against Panamanian Eugenio Hurtado, who won by technical knock-out on March 15, 1964.
Pérez had a record of 84 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, with 58 knockouts, numbers which place him in the exclusive group of boxers to have won 50 or more fights by knockout.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
92LossEugenio HurtadoTKO6 Mar 15, 1964 Gimnasio Nacional,
Panama City, Panamá, Panama
91Loss84–6–1Efren TorresKO3 Oct 19, 1963 Arena Progreso,
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
90Win84–5–1Adolfo OssesPTS10Aug 9, 1963 Guayaquil, Guayas, Venezuela
89Loss83–5–1Bernardo CaraballoUD10Jul 26, 1963 Bogotá, Colombia
88Win83–4–1Manuel MorenoUD10Jun 16, 1963 Gimnasio Nacional,
Panama City, Panamá, Panama
87Loss82–4–1Leo ZuluetaSD10Apr 30, 1963 Rizal Memorial Sports Complex,
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
86Win82–3–1Cirilo AvellanedaKO7 Apr 12, 1963 Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina
85Win81–3–1Juan Carlos MoreyraPTS10Apr 5, 1963 Mercedes, Corrientes, Argentina
84Win80–3–1Rodolfo TrivisPTS10Feb 16, 1963 Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
83Win79–3–1Miguel HerreraPTS10Feb 1, 1963 San Luis, San Luis, Argentina
82Win78–3–1Cirilo AvellanedaPTS10Jan 25, 1963 Villa Dolores, Buenos Aires, Argentina
81Win77–3–1Juan Carlos MoreyraTKO8 Dec 8, 1962 Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
80Win76–3–1Martin LuqueKO5 Jun 15, 1962 San Salvador, Jujuy, Argentina
79Win75–3–1Rodolfo TrivisPTS10Jun 9, 1962 San Miguel, Tucumán, Argentina
78Win74–3–1Cirilo AvellanedaKO5 May 19, 1962 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
77Win73–3–1Martin LuqueTKO5 May 2, 1962 Santiago del Estero,
Santiago del Estero, Argentina
76Win72–3–1Juan Carlos MoreyraTKO3 Apr 27, 1962 Salta, Salta, Argentina
75Win71–3–1Ursino BernalTKO6 Apr 21, 1962 San Miguel, Tucumán, Argentina
74Win70–3–1Rodolfo TrivisPTS10Mar 2, 1962 Miramar, Córdoba, Argentina
73Win69–3–1Ursino BernalPTS10Feb 23, 1962 Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Argentina
72Win68–3–1Demetrio AcostaKO2 Jan 27, 1962 Nueve de Julio, San Juan, Argentina
71Win67–3–1Rodolfo TrivisPTS10Dec 22, 1961 Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
70Win66–3–1Alberto GarcíaTKO6 Oct 21, 1961 Rosario, Jujuy Province, Jujuy, Argentina
69Win65–3–1José DiazKO7 Oct 12, 1961 Esquel, Chubut, Argentina
68Win64–3–1Waldemiro TorresKO3 Sep 5, 1961 Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina
67Win63–3–1Simon RiosKO6 Aug 19, 1961 Trelew, Chubut
66Win62–3–1Waldemiro TorresKO8 Jul 29, 1961 Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina
65Win61–3–1Juan MonteveroKO5 Jul 15, 1961 Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina
64Win60–3–1Hugo VillarrealKO3 Jul 8, 1961 Punta Alta, Buenos Aires, Argentina
63Win59–3–1Francisco BahamondesTKO3 May 19, 1961 Cipolletti, Río Negro, Argentina
62Win58–3–1Juan MonteveroTKO6 May 13, 1961 General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
61Win57–3–1Pablo SosaKO3 Apr 9, 1961 San Pedro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
60Win56–3–1Juan Carlos MoreyraPTS10Apr 1, 1961 Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
59Win55–3–1Hugo VillarrealTKO4 Mar 1, 1961 Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina
58Loss54–3–1Pone KingpetchTKO8 Sep 22, 1960 Grand Olympic Auditorium,
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
For NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
57Loss54–2–1Pone KingpetchSD15Apr 16, 1960 Lumpinee Boxing Stadium,
Bangkok, Thailand
Lost NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
56Win54–1–1Sadao YaoitaKO13 Nov 5, 1959 Ogimachi Pool,
Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Retained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
55Win53–1–1Kenji YonekuraUD15Aug 10, 1959 Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanRetained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
54Win52–1–1Kenji YonekuraPTS10Feb 18, 1959 Tokyo, Japan
53Loss51–1–1Sadao YaoitaUD10Jan 16, 1959 Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan
52Win51–0–1Dommy UrsuaUD15Dec 15, 1958 Rizal Memorial Sports Complex,
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
Retained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
51Win50–0–1Tito RaggoneUD10Nov 22, 1958 Rif-stadion,
Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles
50Win49–0–1Tito RaggonePTS10Aug 9, 1958 Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
49Win48–0–1Ramón AriasUD15Apr 19, 1958 Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Miranda, Venezuela
Retained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
48Win47–0–1Ricardo ValdezKO8 Mar 22, 1958 Buenos Aires, Argentina
47Win46–0–1Young MartinKO3 Dec 7, 1957 Club Atlético Boca Juniors,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Retained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
46Win45–0–1Conrado MoreyraPTS10Sep 13, 1957 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
45Win44–0–1Pablo SosaKO3 Aug 17, 1957 Club Ramon Santamarina,
Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina
44Win43–0–1Urbieta SosaTKO4 Aug 2, 1957 Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
43Win42–0–1Luis JimenezUD10Jul 12, 1957 Estadio Babilonia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
42Win41–0–1Dai DowerKO1 Mar 30, 1957 Club San Lorenzo de Almagro,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Retained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
41Win40–0–1Conrado MoreyraPTS10Dec 12, 1956 Buenos Aires, Argentina
40Win39–0–1Hernan RojasRTD8 Sep 28, 1956 Estadio Comuneros, Asunción, Paraguay
39Win38–0–1Conrado MoreyraPTS10Sep 6, 1956 Ginásio do Pacaembu,
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
38Win37–0–1Hector AlmarazKO3 Aug 25, 1956 Estadio Norte,
Rosario, Santa Fe
37Win36–0–1Ricardo ValdezTKO5 Aug 4, 1956 Club Ramon Santamarina,
Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina
36Win35–0–1Oscar SuarezTKO11 Jun 30, 1956 Montevideo, Montevideo, UruguayRetained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
35Win34–0–1Pablo SosaKO4 Jun 15, 1956 Martínez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
34Win33–0–1Ricardo ValdezTKO6 Jun 8, 1956 Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina
33Win32–0–1Marcelo QuirogaPTS10Mar 31, 1956 Buenos Aires, Argentina
32Win31–0–1Antonio GomezTKO2 Mar 21, 1956 Buenos Aires, Argentina
31Win30–0–1Antonio GomezPTS10Feb 10, 1956 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
30Win29–0–1Leo EspinosaUD15Jan 11, 1956 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaRetained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
29Win28–0–1Danny KidPTS10Oct 22, 1955 Buenos Aires, Argentina
28Win27–0–1Alberto PalomequeKO4 Aug 26, 1955 Catamarca, Catamarca, Argentina
27Win26–0–1Yoshio ShiraiKO5 May 30, 1955 Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo, JapanRetained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
26Win25–0–1Alberto BarenghiKO3 Apr 13, 1955 Buenos Aires, Argentina
25Win24–0–1Yoshio ShiraiUD15Nov 26, 1954 Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo, JapanWon NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
24Draw23–0–1Yoshio ShiraiPTS10Jul 24, 1954 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
23Win23–0Marcelo QuirogaKO4 Jun 25, 1954 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
22Win22–0Pablo SosaRTD8 Jun 12, 1954 Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut, Argentina
21Win21–0Domingo SandovalKO4 Jun 5, 1954 Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut, Argentina
20Win20–0Vicente BrunoKO3 May 19, 1954 Buenos Aires, Argentina
19Win19–0Juan BishopPTS10Apr 22, 1954 Buenos Aires, Argentina
18Win18–0Pablo SosaKO2 Mar 24, 1954 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
17Win17–0Pablo SosaKO6 Mar 12, 1954 Catamarca, Catamarca, Argentina
16Win16–0Nicolas PáezKO1 Feb 24, 1954 Buenos Aires, Argentina
15Win15–0Oliden RojasKO3 Feb 13, 1954 Club Ramon Santamarina,
Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina
14Win14–0Marcelo QuirogaTKO4 Feb 6, 1954 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
13Win13–0Antonio ZapataRTD5 Jan 29, 1954 Catamarca, Catamarca, Argentina
12Win12–0José Domingo LunaTKO2 Jan 19, 1954 San Miguel, Tucumán, Argentina
11Win11–0Nestor RojasRTD2 Jan 8, 1954 Catamarca, Catamarca, ArgentinaRetained Argentine flyweight title
10Win10–0Roberto RomeroKO2 Dec 30, 1953 Uspallata, Mendoza, Argentina
9Win9–0Hernan RojasKO2 Dec 23, 1953 Catamarca, Catamarca, Argentina
8Win8–0Eduardo LliuziRTD1 Nov 25, 1953 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
7Win7–0Marcelo QuirogaTKO4 Nov 11, 1953 Luna Park, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaWon vacant Argentine flyweight title
6Win6–0Juan GodoyKO4 Mar 30, 1953 Buenos Aires, Argentina
5Win5–0Miguel CarrascoKO5 Mar 16, 1953 Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina
4Win4–0Mario AhumadaTKO3 Feb 20, 1953 Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina
3Win3–0Ramon StronattiRTD2 Jan 3, 1953 Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina
2Win2–0Jorge FloresKO3 Dec 19, 1952 San Fernando, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1Win1–0José CiorinoTKO4 Dec 5, 1952 Gerli, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Honors and legacy

He has been inducted into both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
On his death in 1977, Pascual Pérez was interred in the La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1955 he was awarded the Gold Olimpia Award. Perez in 1977 entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame organized by the magazine Ring. In 1995, the Hall of Fame in Canastota did the same, where he is included with Argentine boxers Carlos Monzon, Nicolino Locche, and Victor Galindez. In 2004, he was officially declared the South American champion, by the American Boxing Confederation.
The Mendoza Boxing Palace of the Mendoza Boxing Federation, reopened in 2007, was named Estadio Pascual Perez, in his memory.
In 1954, writer Rafael Lauria and musicians Hector Maure and Sergio Gasparini composed a tango titled "The great champion," recorded by Hector Maure, part of which reads:
Prominent journalist Chon Romero praised Pascual Perez in the following statement:
In 1980, with the first edition of the Konex Awards, the Konex Foundation awarded a Diploma of Merit to Perez as one of the top 5 boxers in the history of Argentina.
Boxrec.com ranks Pérez as the number one flyweight of all time.
Throughout his career Pascual Perez won 18 tournaments, including:

Titles in boxing

Amateur titles

  • 1944: Mendocino Tournament Novices
  • 1944: Argentine Championship Novice
  • 1945: Open Tournament Salta.
  • 1946 Mendocino Veterans Championships
  • 1946: Veteran Argentine Championship
  • 1946: Latin American Championship
  • 1947 Mendocino Veterans Championships
  • 1947: Veteran Argentine Championship
  • 1947: Latin American Championship
  • 1948 Vintage Championship
  • 1948: Veteran Argentine Championship
  • 1948: Olympic Champion in London
  • 1950: Mendocino Veterans Championships
  • 1950: Veteran Argentine Championship
  • 1950: Latin American Championship
  • 1950: Good Neighbour Tournament

Professional titles

Undisputed titles