Rubén Darío Palacio


Ruben Darío "El Huracán" Palacio was a Colombian boxer.

Professional career

Palacio fought 11 years before surprisingly winning the WBO title in England with an eighth-round technical knockout of British star Colin McMillan after McMillan dislocated his shoulder on 26 September 1992.
Before that, Palacio had tried unsuccessfully to win a world title on 3 occasions and never gave up on his dream, even when he had very low points in his career.
He was very much the underdog against the flashy 23-1 McMillan but Palacio had his night of glory that day in London. Ironically, he returned to England to defend his title and then he was diagnosed with the HIV virus by the British Boxing Board of Control. Palacio had to relinquish the belt he had waited so long to win and retired with a 45-11-2 record.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
58WinColin McMillanTKO8 1992-09-26Olympia, London, England, U.K.Won WBO featherweight title
57Win44–11–2Dionisio BlancoTKO4 1992-07-03Envigado, Colombia
56Win43–11–2Alberto ZuluagaPTS10 1992-04-11Bogotá, Colombia
55Loss42–11–2Mario FuentesTKO4 1991-11-22Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, Mexico
54Win42–10–2Omar GonzalezTKO4 1991-07-31Cartagena, ColombiaWon vacant Colombian super-featherweight title
53Loss41–10–2Ever BelenoPTS10 1991-06-14Cartagena, Colombia
52Loss41–9–2Joon HuhKO2 1991-02-03Geumho Citizen Gymnasium, Yeongcheon, South Korea
51Win41–8–2Juan De la CruzTKO7 1990-11-10Puerto Nare, Colombia
50Loss40–8–2Luis MendozaTKO3 1990-09-11Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S.For vacant WBA super-bantamweight title
49Draw40–7–2Luis MendozaSD12 1990-05-25Plaza de toros de Cartagena, Cartagena, ColombiaFor vacant WBA super-bantamweight title
48Win40–7–1Luis NavarroKO2 1990-02-17Apartadó, Colombia
47Win39–7–1Praphan KhamchaUD10 1989-11-18Samut Sakhon, Thailand
46Win38–7–1Deus James PembertiPTS8 1989-07-15Barranquilla, Colombia
45Win37–7–1Angel VargasTKO4 1989-04-29Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
44Win36–7–1Daniel BlancoKO3 1989-03-03Medellín, Colombia
43Win35–7–1Gustavo EspitiaKO3 1989-01-28Apartadó, Colombia
42Win34–7–1Luis BerrioKO4 1988-12-16Barranquilla, Colombia
41Win33–7–1Juan Gomez PoloPTS8 1988-12-02Barranquilla, Colombia
40Win32–7–1Alvaro NarvaezPTS12 1988-10-07Bello, Colombia
39Win31–7–1Gustavo EspitiaKO1 1988-09-10Colombia
38Win30–7–1Jaime CastellonTD7 1988-05-21Coliseo Vicente Díaz Romero, Bucaramanga, Colombia
37Win29–7–1Pedro ArroyoMD10 1988-03-30Holiday Beach Hotel, Willemstad, Curaçao
36Win28–7–1Manuel MejiaTKO4 1988-02-05Medellín, Colombia
35Win27–7–1Luis MendietaKO2 1987-12-19Medellín, Colombia
34Win26–7–1Alvaro BohorquezPTS10 1987-10-30Montería, ColombiaWon vacant Colombian featherweight title
33Win25–7–1Eduardo RodriguezPTS8 1987-08-25Laredo, Colombia
32Loss24–7–1Rafael ZuñigaTKO2 1987-05-25Cartagena, Colombia
31Win24–6–1Ley Umba SengiPTS8 1986-10-10Palazzo Dello Sport, Cesena, Italy
30Win23–6–1Vicente JorgeKO4 1986-09-19Lerici, Italy
29Win22–6–1Faical NaiferPTS8 1986-07-04Porlezza, Italy
28Loss21–6–1Jim McDonnellTKO7 1986-05-07Royal Albert Hall, London, England, U.K.
27Loss21–5–1Valerio NatiPTS10 1985-10-12Palazzo Dello Sport, Cesena, Italy
26Loss21–4–1Kim Ji-wonUD15 1985-03-30Suwon Gymnasium, Suwon, South KoreaFor IBF super-bantamweight title
25Win21–3–1José CervantesKO8 1984-12-14Cartagena, Colombia
24Loss20–3–1Tommy ValoyKO11 1984-09-03Sentro Deportivo Korsou, Willemstad, CuraçaoFor vacant WBC Continental Americas super-bantamweight title
23Win20–2–1Jefferson GomezPTS10 1984-06-29Buenaventura, ColombiaWon vacant Colombian super-bantamweight title
22Win19–2–1Hilario DiazPTS10 1984-05-24Caracas, Venezuela
21Win18–2–1Mario LivingstonPTS10 1984-05-11San Andrés, Colombia
20Win17–2–1Bernardino RubioPTS8 1984-02-12Medellín, Colombia
19Draw16–2–1Pedro BarreraPTS10 1983-12-23Barranquilla, Colombia
18Win16–2Antonio NisperuzaPTS10 1983-10-05Turbo, Colombia
17Loss15–2José CervantesKO4 1983-07-15Cartagena, Colombia
16Win15–1Carlos GarciaKO6 1983-06-06Colombia
15Loss14–1Miguel LoraPTS12 1983-05-12Montería, ColombiaFor vacant WBC Continental Americas bantamweight title
14Win14–0Daniel MartinezKO2 1983-03-26Plaza de toros de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia
13Win13–0Henry DiazKO4 1983-03-06Colombia
12Win12–0Miguel MaturanaTKO10 1982-12-18Plaza Monumental, Cartagena, ColombiaRetained Colombian bantamweight title
11Win11–0Homer MezaPTS12 1982-10-30Medellín, ColombiaWon Colombian bantamweight title
10Win10–0Wilson SalgadoKO2 1982-06-15Cartagena, Colombia
9Win9–0Francisco AlvarezPTS10 1982-04-17Cartagena, Colombia
8Win8–0Jose RodriguezPTS10 1982-03-05Cartagena, Colombia
7Win7–0Valerio ZeaPTS10 1981-12-15San Onofre, Colombia
6Win6–0Pedro RengifoPTS10 1981-09-18Colombia
5Win5–0Rafael CorreaPTS8 1981-08-09Colombia
4Win4–0Antonio GalvizPTS8 1981-07-17Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Colombia
3Win3–0Hector FranklinPTS6 1981-06-21Colombia
2Win2–0Alexis KlingerPTS6 1981-05-05Colombia
1Win1–0Juan MercadoPTS6 1981-04-27Colombia

Life after boxing

After relinquishing the belt, the former champion's life was a tragic downward spiral. He was arrested on drug trafficking charges in the US a year after and spent four years in jail.

Death

Palacio died of AIDS in a hospital in Medellín, Colombia on 14 November 2003. He was a few weeks short of his 41st birthday.