Rubén Olivares


Rubén Olivares Avila is a Mexican former professional boxer and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Olivares was a world champion multiple times, and considered by many as the greatest bantamweight champion of all time. He was very popular among Mexicans, many of whom considered him to be Mexico's greatest fighter for a long period. He held the record for the most wins in unified title bouts in bantamweight history, at 6, a feat later surpassed by Naoya Inoue at 7. Olivares has also had both starring and cameo appearances in Mexican movies, and he participated in more than 100 professional bouts.

Professional career

Olivares made his pro debut at the age of 17 by knocking out Freddy García in round one at Cuernavaca. With that knockout win, a streak of 22 knockout wins in a row had been set off. During that streak, he beat Tony Gallegos, Monito Aguilar and Antonio Leal, among others. It was on March 8, 1967, that Felipe González became the first one to go the distance with Olivares, when Olivares defeated him by a decision in 10 at Mexicali. Then, on July 29 of that same year, Olivares had the first spot on his record, Germán Bastidas holding him to a ten-round draw.
He had back to back rematches with González and Bastidas, knocking González out in round six on November 19, and Bastidas in round four on January 28, 1968. Then came a step up in opponent quality, when he met former world champion Salvatore Burruni in Mexico City. Olivares knocked Burruni out in three rounds. After defeating Manuel Arnal by a disqualification in six, he set off on another knockout win streak, this one reaching 21 in a row. One of the fights in that streak was against Bernabé Fernández, in Los Angeles. Olivares won his first fight abroad that day, beating Fernández in round three. On May 23, 1969, he defeated Olympic gold medalist Takao Sakurai.

World Bantamweight Championship

After accumulating a record of 51-0-1, Olivares received his first world title bout when he faced world bantamweight champion Lionel Rose, who was defending his world title that day, at the Inglewood Forum. According to boxing book The Ring: Boxing In The 20th Century, the forum's director, fearing a riot like the one that happened after Rose had beaten Chucho Castillo there might happen again, went to Olivares' locker room to express his worries, and Olivares guaranteed he wouldn't let that happen again. Olivares became the world bantamweight champion by knocking Rose out in round five on that day, August 22 of 1969.
After beating Alan Rudkin in a title defense and a couple other fighters in non-title bouts, Olivares started his trilogy of bouts with arch-enemy and countryman Castillo. Olivares' knockout streak ended in that fight, but he won the first installment of the Olivares-Castillo rivalry after rising off the canvas to score a 15-round decision. After three more non-title wins, Olivares and Castillo met again, on October 16 of 1970. This time, Olivares suffered a cut in round one, and the fight was stopped in round 14, Castillo the winner and new world Bantamweight champion by a technical knockout. This was Olivares' first loss in his 62 fight career.
After one more win, Olivares and Castillo had their rubber match, on April 3 of 1971. Olivares was knocked down once, but he rose to regain the World Bantamweight title in the last fight between him and Castillo with another 15-round decision. Then, he had six more knockouts in a row, including one in a non-title bout in Nicaragua, one in Nagoya, Japan while defending the crown in the rematch for a fight which took place in 1969, won by Olivares by TKO in the 2nd round. The rematch against Kazuyoshi Kanazawa was a brutal affair and in the 13th round Kanazawa seemed to be on the verge of stopping Olivares, having him pinned to the ropes and a corner. It appears Kanazawa emptied his "tank" with this last attack and before the round ended Kanazawa could hardly keep his feet, and fell clumsily after missing with an uppercut. Olivares floored Kanazawa three times in the 14th round, prompting the stoppage victory. This fight was voted as the best Japanese match of 1971. Another victory came against former champion Efren Torres, and one against Jesus Pimentel, also in round 11.
On March 19, 1972, Olivares lost the world's Bantamweight title to another countryman, Rafael Herrera, by a knockout in round eight. After defeating Godfrey Stevens in Monterrey, he and Herrera met again, with Herrera the winner by a 10-round decision.

Move to Featherweight

Next for Olivares was a move up in division, and he started to campaign in the Featherweight division by defeating Walter Seeley. On June 23 of 1973, he met future champion Bobby Chacón in the first installment of another trilogy of fights. What was contested for the NABF featherweight title, ended in round nine when Olivares knocked Chacón out. In his next fight, the 78th of his career, he suffered an upset, when unknown Art Hafey knocked him out in five rounds, but then he set off on a string of three more wins in a row, including a decision over Hafey in a rematch, before fighting for the WBA's vacant world Featherweight championship.

WBA Featherweight Championship

On July 9, 1974, Olivares became world Featherweight champion by beating Zenzuke Utagawa by a knockout in round seven. After two non-title wins, he met Alexis Argüello on November 23 of that year, losing the world title by a knockout in round 13. He was winning this fight before he gassed and was eventually stopped.

WBC Featherweight Championship

One more win, and Olivares met Chacón in the second installment of their trilogy, this time with Chacón as the WBC's world Featherweight champion. Olivares won the fight by a knockout in round two, to become world champion for the fourth time. This time, however, he also lost the title in his first defense, beaten by Ghana's David "Poison" Kotey, who became that nation's first world boxing champion ever by winning a 15-round decision against Olivares. A seven-round knockout defeat at the hands of future world champion Danny "Little Red" López followed.
Olivares won two fights in 1976 and lost one, including a victory over world title challenger Fernando Cabanela of the Philippines and a loss to another world title challenger, José Cervantes, from Colombia. In 1977, Olivares and Chacón boxed the final bout of their trilogy, and this time Chacón came out the winner, by a 10-round decision. But in 1978, Olivares found what would be the beginning of his last hurrah in his 93rd bout, as he knocked out the future 2 time world Lightweight champion José Luis Ramírez in two rounds at Ciudad Obregón, and he followed that win with wins over Shig Fukuyama and Isaac Vega.
After drawing in ten rounds with Guillermo Morales on April 22, 1979, he received what would turn out to be his last world title try: On July 21 of that year, he was knocked out in 12 rounds by WBA world Featherweight champion Eusebio Pedroza in Houston, Texas.
For the next eight years, he fought sporadically and with mixed success, until he was able to walk away from professional boxing in 1988.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
105LossIgnacio MadridKO4 1988-03-12Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
104Draw89–12–3Roman AlmaguerMD41986-02-25The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
103Loss89–12–2Margarito MarquezSD101981-11-24La Villa Real Convention Center, McAllen, Texas, U.S.
102Loss89–11–2Rafael GandarillaTKO8 1980-08-24Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, U.S.
101Win89–10–2Sergio ReyesTKO7 1980-04-25Ciudad Deportiva, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico
100Win88–10–2Carlos SerranoTKO5 1980-03-07Uptown Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
99Loss87–10–2Eusebio PedrozaTKO12 1979-07-21Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, U.S.For WBA featherweight title
98Win87–9–2Adrian ZapantaTKO2 1979-06-30Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
97Draw86–9–2Guillermo MoralesPTS101979-04-22Plaza de Toros San Roque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico
96Win86–9–1Isaac VegaRTD2 1978-11-20Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, U.S.
95Win85–9–1Shig FukuyamaKO2 1978-10-17Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, U.S.
94Win84–9–1José Luis RamírezTKO2 1978-04-28Arena, Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
93Win83–9–1Ricky GutierrezUD101977-12-06Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
92Loss82–9–1Bobby ChaconUD101977-08-20The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
91Loss82–8–1Jose CervantesKO6 1976-11-19Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
90Win82–7–1Fernando CabanelaUD101976-07-30Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
89Win81–7–1Pajet LupikanetTKO1 1976-06-02Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
88Loss80–7–1Danny LopezKO7 1975-12-04The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
87Loss80–6–1David KoteySD151975-09-20The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Lost WBC featherweight title
86Win80–5–1Bobby ChaconTKO2 1975-06-20The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Won WBC featherweight title
85Win79–5–1Benjamin OrtizKO6 1975-04-07Arena Tijuana 72, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
84Loss78–5–1Alexis ArguelloKO13 1974-11-23The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Lost WBA featherweight title
83Win78–4–1Carlos MendozaTKO6 1974-10-05Plaza de Toros, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
82Win77–4–1Enrique GarciaTKO5 1974-08-31Plaza de Toros Monumental, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
81Win76–4–1Zensuke UtagawaKO7 1974-07-09The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Won vacant WBA featherweight title
80Win75–4–1Adrian ZapantaKO2 1974-05-14Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
79Win74–4–1Art HafeySD121974-03-04The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
78Win73–4–1Francisco DurangoUD101973-12-02Plaza de Toros Monumental, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
77Loss72–4–1Art HafeyKO5 1973-09-15Plaza de Toros Monumental, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
76Win72–3–1Bobby ChaconRTD9 1973-06-23The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Won NABF featherweight title
75Win71–3–1Walter SeeleyTKO2 1973-04-28The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
74Loss70–3–1Rafael HerreraMD101972-11-14The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
73Win70–2–1Godfrey StevensPTS101972-08-19Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
72Loss69–2–1Rafael HerreraKO8 1972-03-19Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, MexicoLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
71Win69–1–1Jesús PimentelRTD11 1971-12-14The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
70Win68–1–1Kazuyoshi KanazawaKO14 1971-10-25Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Aichi, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
69Win67–1–1Kid PascualitoTKO9 1971-08-23The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
68Win66–1–1Efren TorresTKO4 1971-07-10Auditorio del Estado, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
67Win65–1–1Vicente BlancoKO5 1971-06-07Estadio Somoza, Managua, Nicaragua
66Win64–1–1Tsuguo MineyamaTKO3 1971-05-19Plaza de Toros El Toreo, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
65Win63–1–1Chucho CastilloUD151971-04-02The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
64Win62–1–1Chung ParkKO6 1971-03-03Auditorio del Estado, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
63Loss61–1–1Chucho CastilloTKO14 1970-10-16The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Lost WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
62Win61–0–1Memo RodriguezKO5 1970-09-11Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
61Win60–0–1Jose ArranzTKO3 1970-08-14The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
60Win59–0–1Shuji ChiyodaUD101970-07-22International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
59Win58–0–1Chucho CastilloUD151970-04-18The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
58Win57–0–1Romy GuelasRTD5 1970-03-18Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
57Win56–0–1Angel HernandezKO3 1970-02-22Acámbaro, Guanajuato, Mexico
56Win55–0–1Alan RudkinTKO2 1969-12-12The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
55Win54–0–1Shigeyoshi OkiKO3 1969-10-27Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
54Win53–0–1Lionel RoseKO5 1969-08-22The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
53Win52–0–1Nene JunTKO1 1969-06-29Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, Mexico
52Win51–0–1Takao SakuraiTKO6 1969-05-23The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
51Win50–0–1Frank AdameKO2 1969-05-06Heroica Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
50Win49–0–1Ernie CruzTKO9 1969-03-17The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
49Win48–0–1Carlos ZayasTKO7 1969-03-09Plaza de Toros San Roque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico
48Win47–0–1Jose BisbalKO3 1969-02-23Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
47Win46–0–1Kazuyoshi KanazawaTKO2 1969-01-26Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
46Win45–0–1José MedelKO8 1968-11-24Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
45Win44–0–1Wally BrooksKO1 1968-10-11Mexico City, Mexico
44Win43–0–1Antoine PorcelKO1 1968-09-15Mexico City, Mexico
43Win42–0–1Bernabe FernandezTKO3 1968-08-28The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
42Win41–0–1Tiny PalacioTKO6 1968-08-10Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
41Win40–0–1Gary GarberTKO5 1968-07-11Plaza de Toros, Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
40Win39–0–1Enrique YepesKO5 1968-06-25Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
39Win38–0–1Octavio GomezKO5 1968-06-08Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
38Win37–0–1King GavilanKO4 1968-05-20Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
37Win36–0–1Manuel ArnalDQ5 1968-04-27Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
36Win35–0–1Salvatore BurruniTKO3 1968-03-31Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
35Win34–0–1Pornchai Poprai-ngamTKO9 1968-03-03Arena, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
34Win33–0–1German BastidasTKO5 1968-01-28Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
33Win32–0–1Felipe GonzalezRTD6 1967-11-19Estadio Arturo C. Nahl, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
32Win31–0–1Chamaco CastilloKO4 1967-11-03Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
31Win30–0–1Ushiwakamaru HaradaTKO2 1967-10-14Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
30Win29–0–1Gustavo SosaTKO3 1967-09-20Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
29Win28–0–1Grillito AguilarKO5 1967-09-06Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico
28Draw27–0–1German BastidasPTS101967-07-29Mexico City, Mexico
27Win27–0Angel HernandezKO5 1967-07-14León, Guanajuato, Mexico
26Win26–0Julio GuerreroKO4 1967-06-17Mexico City, Mexico
25Win25–0Felipe GonzalezPTS101967-02-26Gimnasio de Mexicali, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
24Win24–0Antonio LealKO1 1967-02-05Gimnasio de Mexicali, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
23Win23–0Daniel GutierrezTKO10 1966-12-17Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
22Win22–0Rafael MartinezTKO5 1966-11-09León, Guanajuato, Mexico
21Win21–0Rafael MaciasTKO5 1966-10-18Mexico City, Mexico
20Win20–0Ernesto AguilarTKO3 1966-10-07Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
19Win19–0Ramiro GarciaKO9 1966-09-17Mexico City, Mexico
18Win18–0Oscar RivasTKO3 1966-08-07Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
17Win17–0Gerardo LujanoTKO5 1966-07-10Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
16Win16–0German GuzmanKO4 1966-06-24Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
15Win15–0Alfonso Jose CazaresTKO2 1966-06-11Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
14Win14–0Emeterio CamposTKO4 1966-05-20Auditorio Municipal, Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
13Win13–0Juan MolinaTKO2 1966-04-23Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
12Win12–0Gallito CamachoTKO1 1966-03-12Mexico City, Mexico
11Win11–0Eduardo AlvaradoKO2 1966-02-16Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
10Win10–0Reynaldo De La CerdaTKO3 1966-01-28Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
9Win9–0Pablo MartinezTKO2 1965-11-24Mexico City, Mexico
8Win8–0Mateo JaimesTKO5 1965-10-20Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
7Win7–0Jorge GomezTKO8 1965-09-09Plaza de Toros, Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
6Win6–0Nemesio ZenilTKO2 1965-08-14Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
5Win5–0Antonio GallegosTKO4 1965-04-01Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Durango, Mexico
4Win4–0Torito SilvaKO6 1965-02-18Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Durango, Mexico
3Win3–0Jeronimo CisnerosTKO3 1965-02-01Mexico City, Mexico
2Win2–0Freddie GarciaKO1 1965-01-18Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
1Win1–0Isidro SoteloKO1 1965-01-04Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

''The Ring'' magazine titles

The Ring bantamweight champion

Regional/International titles

Undisputed titles

Legacy

Until Julio César Chávez came onto the scene, Olivares was considered Mexico's best boxer. He became a mainstream star, and had friends in the Mexican entertainment world. He frequently performed cameos in comic Mexican films. He remains a Mexican national hero.
Olivares' acting career prolonged for 12 films, including Las Glorias del Gran Puas, a 1984 film based on Olivares' life that also starred an all star Mexican cast including Sasha Montenegro, Carmen Salinas, Manuel "Flaco" Ibáñez, Roberto Guzman, Raul Padilla, Sergio Bustamante and Rafael Inclan among others.
He had a record of 89 wins, 13 losses and 3 draws, with 79 wins by knockout. His knockout winning streaks of 22 and 21 in a row qualify as two of the longest knockout winning streaks in the history of boxing. Similarly, his 78 knockout wins make him a member of an exclusive group of boxers to have won 50 or more fights by knockout. In 2003, The Ring placed him at number twelve in their list of the greatest punchers of all time.
Olivares is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Olivares was voted as the #1 bantamweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press in 1999.