Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Río Piedras is a populous district of San Juan, and former town and municipality of Puerto Rico, which was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. The district today is composed of various '' barrios'' (these are the primary legal divi ...
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
. He was much better known as El Gallo Rivera or Tonito Rivera, and was a prominent boxer during the decade of the 1980s.
Professional career
José Antonio Rivera began his professional boxing career on February 26, 1981, after a long and successful amateur boxing career, knocking out Humberto Maldonado in the first round at
Trujillo Alto
Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Truji ...
,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. He posted two more wins in a row, one by knockout, then lost for the first time as a professional, beaten by Herminio Adorno by a decision in five rounds on May 22. Rivera avenged that loss with a first-round knockout of Adorno on July 9, in Trujillo Alto.
Rivera won five of his next six bouts before fighting abroad for the first time, losing by a ten-round decision to Enrique Sanchez by a ten-round decision at
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional)
, webs ...
, on October 15, 1982. About one year and a half later, Sanchez lost to Alberto Davila for the WBC world Bantamweight title.
On February 12, 1983, Rivera fought for his first championship, the regional, Puerto Rican Super Bantamweight title. He conquered the belt by beating
Orlando Perez
Orlando Perez (born July 12, 1977 in Pomona, California) is an American soccer defender, who played eight seasons in Major League Soccer.
Perez never played college soccer, but he was drafted twice in MLS, both times by coach Octavio Zambran ...
by a twelve-round decision in Canovanas.
Rivera won his next four fights, including a seventh-round knockout victory over Manuel Santos as part of the
Wilfredo Gómez
Wilfredo Gómez RiveraEladio Santana fight's undercard at the
Roberto Clemente Coliseum
Roberto Clemente Coliseum ( Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the largest.
General info ...
on December 14 of that year, and his Madison Square Garden debut, a win over Vincent Christian by a fifth-round knockout on July 26, 1984, at the Garden's Felt Forum Arena.
In his next fight, Rivera defended his Puerto Rican Super Bantamweight title against fellow Puerto Rican
Juan Veloz
Juan José Veloz Dávila (born 24 September 1982 in Mexico City, Mexico) is an Olympic and national record-holding swimmer for Mexico. He swam for his native country at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics.
Career
At the 2002 Central American an ...
, on September 1 in Carolina. The bout was a long-awaited fight by Puerto Rican fight fans and press alike; ahead on points after ten rounds, Rivera lost the fight by a knockout in round eleven.
On February 2, 1985, Rivera re-established himself as a top ranked boxer when he knocked out
Alberto Mercado
Alberto Mercado Monserrate (born January 2, 1961) is a former Jr. Featherweight boxer who was on the verge of fighting for a world title at least twice in his career.
Amateur boxing career
Mercado started boxing as an amateur at the age of 1 ...
in seven rounds as part of one of Victor Callejas' title defense undercards. At stake in that bout was a spot among the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
's top ten challengers. This time, it was Rivera who staged a comeback, being behind on the judges' scorecards before defeating Mercado.
On July 12, he met Tony Miller in Australia, and the two boxers fought to a ten-round draw (tie). On October 5, he beat fringe contender Irving Mitchell in San Juan by a knockout in five rounds to win the WBC continental Americas Featherweight title and position himself as the number one challenger among Featherweights with the IBF.
Rivera next faced a relatively long layoff, while negotiations over contracts for his world title challenge were finalized. Rivera finally got his first shot at becoming world champion on August 30, 1986, in
Osan
Osan () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, approximately south of Seoul. The population of the city is around 200,000. The local economy is supported by a mix of agricultural and industrial enterprises.
It is famous for one of the lar ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, when he faced the IBF world Featherweight champion, Ki-Young Chung. Rivera became world champion by knocking Chung out in ten rounds.
Rivera next faced another long layoff. When his first defense could be finally held. Rivera lost his title when he was knocked out in four rounds by
Calvin Grove
Calvin Grove (born August 5, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who was the Featherweight champion of the world.
Professional career
Grove turned pro in 1982 and in 1988 captured the IBF featherweight title with a TKO over Antonio R ...
, on January 23, 1988 in
Gamaches
Gamaches () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
Gamaches is situated on the D1015, on the banks of the river Bresle, the border with Seine-Maritime, some southwest of Abbeville.Huge lakes to ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. Sixteen months passed between the moment that Rivera won the world championship and his first title defense.
''Tonito'' Rivera won his next three bouts before receiving a shot at becoming world champion again. On December 9, 1989, he dropped Kamel Bou Ali, but lost the fight by an eighth-round knockout, in
Teramo
Teramo (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Tèreme ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.
The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Itali ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. That bout was contested for the WBO's vacant world Jr. Lightweight title.
Rivera, much like
Marvin Hagler
Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight divisi ...
before him, fell in love with Italy. He lived there for the rest of his life, returning to Puerto Rico multiple times for fights. He lost his next fight after the bout with Bou Ali, but rebounded with four straight wins, including a third-round knockout over future world champion Giovanni Parisi on November 10, 1990 in Monsano.
On September 14, 1991, Rivera challenged
Dingaan Thobela
Dingaan Bongane Thobela (born 24 September 1966), is a South African former professional boxer who competed between 1990 and 2006. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO lightweight title from 1990 to 1992, the WBA ...
for the WBO world Lightweight title, losing a twelve-round decision to Thobela in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. After winning four more bouts and drawing one, Rivera received another world title shot, this time in a rematch with Parisi, by then the WBO world Lightweight champion, in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
on September 24, 1993. Rivera was outpointed by Parisi over twelve rounds.
Rivera then embarked on another winning streak, which included a second-round knockout over Argentine hopeful Fabian Tejada on March 6, 1995, in Inglewood, California. That same year, on December 15, he returned to the Madison Square Garden to defeat Gerard Gray by a ninth-round knockout.
Rivera would get another world title chance after that bout: on April 13, 1996, he lost to Artur Grigorian by a knockout in round twelve at
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, for the WBO's world Lightweight title.
Rivera won one, lost three and drew one of his next five fights. One of those bouts was a first-round knockout loss to fringe contender Shannan Taylor of Australia. He also lost to Diosbelys Hurtado, but, on October 25, 1997, he did draw over ten rounds with former WBO world Jr. Welterweight champion, fellow Puerto Rican Sammy Fuentes.
Soon after defeating Johnny Valentin by a first-round knockout on September 30, 2002 in Hatillo, Puerto Rico, as part of a tournament named the ''world
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
tournament'', Rivera was diagnosed with an undisclosed disease, having to retire from boxing for good.
Death
After a long battle with his disease, he died on April 4, 2005 of an asthma attack. After death, Rivera made Puerto Rican sports history, becoming the first athlete to have his mortal remains exposed at the Puerto Rican Sports Pavilion. The second athlete to have his mortal remains exposed there was Félix Javier Pérez, a
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player who was murdered later that year while trying to defend a neighbor from robbers.
Antonio Rivera had a professional boxing record of 36 wins, 13 losses and 3 draws, with 32 wins by knockout.
See also
*
List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions
In Puerto Rico, boxing is considered a major sport, having produced more amateur and professional world champions than any other sport in its history. Puerto Rico ranks 5th worldwide between countries with most boxing world champions in history (o ...