Rodrigo Valdez


Rodrigo Valdez was a Colombian professional boxer who competed from 1963 to 1980. He was a two time middleweight champion, having held the WBC title from 1974 to 1976 and the undisputed WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles from 1977 to 1978. His rivalry with Carlos Monzón has long been considered among the most legendary boxing rivalries. Valdez was trained by hall of famer coach Gil Clancy. Many people consider him, Antonio Cervantes and Miguel "Happy" Lora to be the three greatest boxers ever to come from that country. He is 29th on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Valdez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame batch 2025.

Professional boxing career

Born in Bolívar, Colombia, Rodrigo Valdez began his professional boxing career with a win over Orlando Pineda in a four-round decision on October 25, 1963, at Cartagena. He won his next eight bouts, but on October 2, 1965, he lost his undefeated record, beaten by knockout in six by Rudy Escobar.
After that defeat, he went on another undefeated streak of fifteen fights, of which he won thirteen and tied two. However, on his first fight abroad, February 16, 1969, in Ecuador, he lost a ten-round decision to Daniel Guanin. After one more fight in Cartagena, he moved to the United States. Trying to gain more recognition, he campaigned, from 1969 to 1970, in the states of New York, Nevada and California, winning seven fights and losing two. Then, he returned to South America for four more fights in his homeland, winning all.

Hepatitis

In his next match, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, with Bobby Cassidy on August 9, 1971, Valdez won by knockout in round six, because the fight doctor deemed Cassidy not fit to continue from a cut around his eye which had been ruled as produced by a Valdez punch. At the time, nobody knew that Cassidy had hepatitis A. As a consequence of this, Valdez also became affected by the disease. Given a quarantine, he refused to quit boxing periodically and continued training during his time of illness. Separated from most of the world, he was fit enough to win two more fights within three months of his initial diagnosis of hepatitis.
Valdez had nineteen wins in a row when he met Philadelphia legend Bennie Briscoe for the NABF middleweight title, in Nouméa, New Caledonia, on September 1, 1973, beating Briscoe in a 12-round decision to capture the regional championship and becoming a world-ranked middleweight contender. After this win, Valdez claimed for a world title shot at Monzon.

World title

He won two more fights, and the WBC made him its number one contender at Monzon's title. But Monzon did not feel like fighting the Colombian at that moment, so the WBC stripped Monzon of the world title and made Valdez and Briscoe rematch, this time with the WBC world middleweight title on the line. On May 25, 1974, at Monte Carlo, Valdez became a world champion for the first time, by knocking Briscoe out in seven rounds. Valdez subsequently retained his title against Rudy Valdez, Gratien Tonna, and Max Cohen, until Monzon finally agreed to meet him.
One week before the long-awaited match-up, on June 19, 1976, Valdez's brother was murdered during a barroom fight in Colombia. Already in Monte Carlo for the fight, Valdez wanted to pull out of it to join his family in mourning. But he was contractually bound to fight Monzon, so he had to stay in Europe, and on June 26, Valdez, who to many observers seemed rather uninterested, lost in the unification bout to Monzon in a 15-round unanimous decision. Valdez won two more fights after returning to Colombia.
The WBA and WBC, recognizing that Valdez probably wasn't in the best of moods to fight during his first confrontation with Monzon, ordered a second fight between the rivals, and so they fought again, on July 30, 1977, once again at Monte Carlo. This time around, Valdez knocked down Monzon in the second round, becoming the only man to send the Argentine to the floor in Monzon's long career. Valdez was leading after seven rounds, but Monzon mounted a late rally that allowed him to keep the title by a close decision.

Monzon's retirement

Monzon announced his retirement from boxing afterwards, and so Valdez and Briscoe were matched once again, on November 5, 1977, for the vacant undisputed world middleweight championship, in Campione d'Italia, which belonged back then not to Italy, but actually to Switzerland. Valdez recovered the world middleweight championship, with a 15-round decision over Briscoe. This time around, however, he would lose his title on his first defense, on April 22, 1978, by points in 15 rounds to another Argentine, Hugo Corro, in San Remo, Italy.
On November 11 of that same year, they had a rematch, at Buenos Aires' Luna Park Stadium, and Corro repeated his 15-round victory to retain the world title.

Retirement

Valdez fought only twice more, winning both fights by knockout. After beating Gilberto Amonte on November 28, 1980, in the first round, he retired from boxing for good.
Valdez had a record of 63 wins, eight losses and two draws as a professional boxer, with 42 wins by knockout.

Death

According to Colombian sources, Valdez died of a massive heart attack on March 14, 2017. Cartagena mayor Manuel Duque confirmed the two time former world champion's death, calling him "one of the greatest Colombian sportsmen of all time".

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
73WinGilberto AlmonteTKO1, 1:41Nov 28, 1980Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
72Win62–8–2Charles HaywardTKO7, 1:25May 14, 1980Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
71Loss61–8–2Hugo CorroUD15Nov 11, 1978Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaFor WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
70Win61–7–2Mayfield PenningtonTKO7, 1:22Sep 30, 1978Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
69Loss60–7–2Hugo CorroUD15Apr 22, 1978Teatro Ariston, Sanremo, Liguria, ItalyLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
68Win60–6–2Bennie BriscoeUD15Nov 5, 1977Casinò di Campione, Campione d'Italia, Lombardy, ItalyWon vacant WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
67Loss59–6–2Carlos MonzónUD15Jul 30, 1977Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, MonacoFor WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
66Win59–5–2Oreste LebronTKO5 Mar 19, 1977Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
65Win58–5–2Ramon BerasKO7 Oct 24, 1976Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
64Loss57–5–2Carlos MonzónUD15Jun 26, 1976Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, MonacoLost WBC middleweight title;
For WBA and The Ring middleweight titles
63Win57–4–2Nessim Max CohenTKO4, 2:45Mar 28, 1976Pavillon de Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, FranceRetained WBC middleweight title
62Win56–4–2Rudy RoblesUD15Aug 16, 1975Plaza de Toros de Cartagena de Indias, Cartagena, Bolívar, ColombiaRetained WBC middleweight title
61Win55–4–2Ramón MendezTKO8 May 31, 1975Coliseo El Pueblo, Cali, Valle del Cauca, ColombiaRetained WBC middleweight title
60Win54–4–2Gratien TonnaKO11 Nov 30, 1974Palais des Expositions, Paris, Île-de-France, FranceRetained WBC middleweight title
59Win53–4–2Vinnie CurtoUD10Oct 25, 1974Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
58Win52–4–2Cubby JacksonTKO2 Sep 6, 1974Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
57Win51–4–2Bennie BriscoeTKO7, 2:55May 25, 1974Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, MonacoWon vacant WBC middleweight title
56Win50–4–2Ernie BurnsKO2 Mar 16, 1974Plaza de Toros de Cartagena de Indias, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
55Win49–4–2Joey DurelleKO2 Dec 14, 1973Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
54Win48–4–2Bennie BriscoeUD12Sep 1, 1973Omnisports Stadium, Nouméa, South Province, New CaledoniaWon NABF middleweight title
53Win47–4–2Antonio AguilarPTS10Jul 19, 1973Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
52Win46–4–2Leon WashingtonKO7 May 30, 1973Coliseo El Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
51Win45–4–2Kim BookerTKO5, 2:12Apr 16, 1973Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
50Win44–4–2José RodríguezTKO5 Mar 5, 1973Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
49Win43–4–2Carlos MarksPTS10Dec 18, 1972Parc des Expositions, Paris, Île-de-France, France
48Win42–4–2Lloyd DuncanUD10Sep 29, 1972Sunnyside Gardens, New York City, New York, U.S.
47Win41–4–2Roy EdmondsKO2, 1:11Aug 28, 1972Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
46Win40–4–2Juan Evangelista CórdobaKO6 Aug 10, 1972Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
45Win39–4–2Milton MendezKO2 Apr 2, 1972Valledupar, Cesar, Colombia
44Win38–4–2Thurman Doc HollidayTKO4, 2:38Nov 25, 1971Sunnyside Gardens, New York City, New York, U.S.Fought while quarantined with Hepatitis
43Win37–4–2Perry AbneyTKO1, 2:59Oct 19, 1971Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.Fought while quarantined with Hepatitis
42Win36–4–2Bobby CassidyTKO7, 0:44Aug 9, 1971Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Cassidy did not know he had Hepatitis,
Valdez later developed the disease
41Win35–4–2Edmundo LeiteTKO4 Jun 28, 1971Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
40Win34–4–2Marcos TordoyaTKO4 May 14, 1971Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
39Win33–4–2Arturo LangKO5, 2:59Mar 26, 1971Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
38Win32–4–2Juan JimenezKO2 Jan 24, 1971Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
37Win31–4–2Juan Evangelista CórdobaTKO9 Jul 31, 1970Atanasio Girardot Coliseum, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
36Loss30–4–2Ralph PalladinSD10May 11, 1970Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
35Win30–3–2Cassius GreeneUD10May 1, 1970Sunnyside Gardens, New York City, New York, U.S.
34Loss29–3–2Pete ToroMD10Mar 2, 1970Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
33Win29–2–2Dave OropezaKO1, 1:29Feb 14, 1970The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
32Win28–2–2Denny StilettoTKO1 Dec 10, 1969Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
31Win27–2–2Raul RodríguezTKO9 Oct 17, 1969The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
30Win26–2–2David MelendezTKO5, 2:08Sep 17, 1969Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
29Win25–2–2Mike DeFeoTKO1, 1:27Sep 3, 1969Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
28Win24–2–2Peter CobblahUD10Aug 6, 1969Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
27Win23–2–2Linfer ContrerasKO2 Jun 4, 1969Teatro Circo, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
26Loss22–2–2Daniel GuaninPTS10Feb 16, 1969Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
25Win22–1–2Humberto TrottmanPTS10Aug 6, 1968Bogotá, Colombia
24Win21–1–2Cartagenita KidKO7 Apr 15, 1968Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
23Draw20–1–2German GastelbondoPTS10Jan 21, 1968Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
22Win20–1–1Richard MoralesKO2 Dec 3, 1967Coliseo Cubierto de Monteria, Monteria, Bolívar, Colombia
21Win19–1–1Humberto TrottmanPTS10Oct 1, 1967Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
20Win18–1–1Alfonso FrancoKO12 Aug 20, 1967Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
19Win17–1–1Baby MendezKO3 Aug 12, 1967El Carmen, Colombia
18Win16–1–1Kid RevolledoPTS10Jun 10, 1967Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia
17Draw15–1–1Mario RossitoPTS10Apr 2, 1967Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
16Win15–1Eugenio EspinozaUD10Mar 5, 1967Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
15Win14–1Julio NovellaTKO2 Jan 22, 1967Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
14Win13–1Alfonso FrancoKO7 Nov 4, 1966Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
13Win12–1Elias LianPTS10Jul 29, 1966Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
12Win11–1Luis Ascary LuceroKO2 Jun 24, 1966Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
11Win10–1Sixto UlloaPTS10Apr 29, 1966Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
10Win9–1Rafael LunaUD10Mar 13, 1966Estadio 11 de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
9Loss8–1Juan EscobarTKO6, 3:00Oct 2, 1965Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
8Win8–0Elias HidalgoKO6 Jul 9, 1965Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
7Win7–0Manuel Jack HernandezPTS10Sep 12, 1964Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
6Win6–0Fernando AlvarezTKO8 May 15, 1964Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
5Win5–0Alejandro ParraPTS8Feb 28, 1964Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
4Win4–0Humberto HurtadoPTS6Feb 6, 1964Plaza de Toros de la Serrezuela, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
3Win3–0Alejandro ParraKO5 Jan 15, 1964Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
2Win2–0Eliecer de AvilaKO4 Nov 6, 1963Teatro Circo, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
1Win1–0Orlando PinedaPTS4Oct 25, 1963Estadio Once de Noviembre, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia