José Cuevas (boxer)


José Isidro "Pipino" Cuevas González is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1989. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1976 to 1980.
Cuevas was inducted into both the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Cuevas turned professional at age 14; he won only seven of his first twelve bouts but eventually put together an eight bout winning streak before losing to Andy Price. On 17 July 1976, he received a shot at the WBA welterweight title against champion Ángel Espada. Cuevas pulled off an upset victory by knocking Espada to the canvas three times in the second round. At age 18, he was the youngest welterweight champion in history. In his first defense, he traveled to Japan and defeated hometown fighter Shoji Tsujimoto by knockout.
One of the greatest wins of his career was against Argentinian Miguel Angel Campanino, who boasted an impressive record, including a thirty-two fight winning streak. Once again, Pipino disposed of his challenger before the end of the second round.
On 8 June 1977, he faced veteran Clyde Gray of Canada who had only been stopped twice in his entire career which included fifty-eight wins. Yet again, Cuevas pulled off another second round knock out. A few months later, Cuevas returned to the ring for a rematch against Espada. This time Cuevas defeated Espada in the eleventh round after he sustained a broken jaw. On 4 March 1978, he disposed of Harold Weston in the ninth round after Weston also sustained a broken jaw like Cuevas' previous challenger. Cuevas then defeated former champion Billy Backus in one round. On 9 September 1978, he defeated hometown favorite Pete Ranzany in Sacramento, California via a second-round knockout. He defeated Scott Clark in another second-round knockout. Cuevas next title defense went the distance in a unanimous decision win against the durable Randy Shields. On 8 December 1979, he faced Espada for a third time, stopping him in the tenth round. Cuevas then defeated South African national champion Harold Volbrecht by fifth-round knockout.
Cuevas finally lost his title in 1980 to the undefeated and up-and-coming hometown hero Thomas Hearns in Detroit. The much taller and lankier Hearns was able to use his reach to his advantage as he kept Cuevas at a distance and knocked him out in the second round. Cuevas' talent began to decline after that loss; the most notable opponent he faced was Roberto Durán, who stopped him in the fourth round in the spring of 1983. He also lost to former world title challenger Jun Sok-Hwang and future or former world champions Jorge Vaca and Lupe Aquino before finally retiring in 1989.
Pipino Cuevas fought during a period when an unusual number of accomplished welterweights were active: Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benítez, Carlos Palomino, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Durán, although his reign had nearly come to an end as Leonard, Benítez, Hearns, and Durán emerged as welterweight champions. Cuevas successfully defended his welterweight title eleven times against ten different boxers over a four-year span. During his reign as champion, Cuevas fought the best opposition available to him. In total, the opponents he faced throughout his career had a combined record of 505-70-29. In 2003, The Ring listed Cuevas as number thirty-one on their list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time. In 2002, Cuevas became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Retirement

Cuevas is the owner of a restaurant and a security company in Mexico City. At one point of his career, he was also the owner of a famous sports and luxury car collection, and he was one of the first boxers to sport a golden tooth. Most people probably know him for his nickname Pipino, which is far more used to refer to him than Jose by fight commentators and magazine writers.
He ran into trouble with the law in 2001 when he was accused of racketeering in Mexico, in connection with a Mexican mayor. But he was declared innocent in 2002.
His record as a boxer was of 35 wins and 15 losses, with 31 wins by knockout.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
50Loss35–15Lupe AquinoKO2 25 Sep 1989Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
49Win35–14Martín MartínezKO1 31 Jul 1989Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
48Win34–14Francisco CarballoKO4 29 May 1989Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
47Win33–14Daniel ValenzuelaKO6 25 Jul 1987Mexico City, Mexico
46Loss32–14Jorge VacaKO2 19 Dec 1986Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
45Loss32–13Lorenzo Luis GarcíaMD104 Oct 1986Salta, Salta, Argentina
44Win32–12Luis MateoTKO3 25 Jul 1986UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, US
43Loss31–12Steve LittleMD103 Mar 1986Sacramento, California, US
42Win31–11Felipe VacaUD425 Feb 1986Forum, Inglewood, California, US
41Loss30–11Herman MontesKO3 7 Mar 1985Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, US
40Loss30–10Jun-Suk HwangMD1012 Jul 1984Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, US
39Win30–9Mauricio BravoTKO1 1 Mar 1984Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, US
38Loss29–9Roberto DuránTKO4 29 Jan 1983Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, US
37Loss29–8Roger StaffordUD107 Nov 1981Hacienda Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USThe Ring magazine Upset of the Year
36Win29–7Jørgen HansenTKO1 25 Jun 1981Astrodome, Houston, Texas, US
35Win28–7Bernardo PradaKO2 7 Feb 1981Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, US
34Loss27–7Thomas HearnsTKO2 2 Aug 1980Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, USLost WBA welterweight title
33Win27–6Harold VolbrechtKO5 6 Apr 1980Astro Arena, Houston, Texas, USRetained WBA welterweight title
32Win26–6Ángel EspadaTKO10 8 Dec 1979Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USRetained WBA welterweight title
31Win25–6Randy ShieldsUD1530 Jul 1979International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, USRetained WBA welterweight title
30Win24–6Scott ClarkTKO2 29 Jan 1979Forum, Inglewood, California, USRetained WBA welterweight title
29Win23–6Pete RanzanyTKO2 9 Sep 1978Hughes Arena, Sacramento, California, USRetained WBA welterweight title
28Win22–6Billy BackusTKO2 20 May 1978Forum, Inglewood, California, USRetained WBA welterweight title
27Win21–6Harold WestonTKO9 4 Mar 1978Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, USRetained WBA welterweight title
26Win20–6Ángel EspadaTKO12 19 Nov 1977Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBA welterweight title
25Win19–6Clyde GrayKO2 6 Aug 1977Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, USRetained WBA welterweight title
24Win18–6Miguel Ángel CampaninoKO2 12 Mar 1977Arena Mexico, Mexico City, MexicoRetained WBA welterweight title
23Win17–6Shoji TsujimotoKO6 27 Oct 1976Jissen Rinri Hall, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, JapanRetained WBA welterweight title
22Win16–6Ángel EspadaTKO2 17 Jul 1976Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Baja California, MexicoWon WBA welterweight title
21Loss15–6Andy PriceUD102 Jun 1976Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, US
20Win15–5Rafael PiamonteKO1 3 Apr 1976Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
19Win14–5José PalaciosKO10 27 Sep 1975Arena Mexico, Mexico City, MexicoWon Mexico welterweight title
18Win13–5Carlos ObregónUD1012 Jul 1975Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico
17Win12–5Rubén Vázquez ZamoraUD1025 Jan 1975Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
16Win11–5Sammy GarcíaKO3 26 Oct 1974Mexico City, Mexico
15Win10–5José Luis PenaKO1 21 Aug 1974Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
14Win9–5Sugar SandersTKO1 12 Jun 1974Mexico City, Mexico
13Win8–5Salvador RuvalcabaKO1 11 May 1974Mexico City, Mexico
12Loss7–5Eleazar DelgadoMD1024 Nov 1973Mexico City, Mexico
11Win7–4Octavio AmparanTKO7 6 Oct 1973Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
10Win6–4José FigueroaTKO3 4 Aug 1973Mexico City, Mexico
9Loss5–4Memo CruzUD1013 May 1973Mexico City, Mexico
8Win5–3Sergio AlejoKO4 1 Mar 1973Mexico City, Mexico
7Win4–3Raúl MartínezKO1 7 Dec 1972Mexico City, Mexico
6Loss3–3Juan Pablo OropezaMD819 Aug 1972Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
5Win3–2Pancho BenítezTKO2 22 Jun 1972Mexico City, Mexico
4Win2–2Rielero RodríguezTKO2 24 May 1972Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
3Loss1–2Mario RomanMD64 Mar 1972Mexico City, Mexico
2Win1–1José AriasTKO4 1 Jan 1972Mexico City, Mexico
1Loss0–1Alfredo CastroKO2 14 Nov 1971Mexico City, Mexico