Niño Valdés (born Geraldo Ramos Ponciano Valdés, also known as Nino Valdés) (December 5, 1924 – June 3, 2001) was a Cuban professional boxer who was Cuba's national heavyweight boxing champion in the 1940s and 1950s. Statistical boxing website BoxRec rates Valdés as the 8th best Cuban boxer ever across all weight divisions. All-Time Pound-for-Pound Rankings (Cuba)
BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.

Professional career

Heavyweight contender

Valdés was a top contender for the heavyweight title during the mid 1950s, although he never received a shot due to his mixed results in the ring. Ring Magazine ranked Valdez as high as the #2 contender in its annual rankings for 1958 and he was highly ranked in several other years.retrieved Feb. 27,2014 After a string of four losses to notable fighters such as Harold Johnson,

Archie Moore Archie Moore (born Archibald Lee Wright; December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998) was an American professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time (December 1952 – May 1962). He had one of the longest ...

, and Bob Baker in 1952 and 1953, he went undefeated in an impressive run of 11 consecutive victories which saw him defeat

Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975), known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. Known for his slick defense and precision, he is often considered the greatest light heavywei ...

and Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson. However, the streak came to an end when he lost a rematch to Moore by a fifteen-round unanimous decision on May 2, 1955. He lost another fight to

Bob Satterfield Bob "Bombardier" Satterfield (November 9, 1923 in St. Louis, Missouri – June 1, 1977) was a heavyweight boxer who fought from 1945–1957. Satterfield, who never fought for the title, retired with a record of 50 wins (35 KOs), 25 losses and 4 ...

three months later. After beating former title contender

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, he lost a ten-round unanimous decision to Bob Baker on December 7, 1955, costing him a potential title bout against

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Later career and retirement

He continued boxing, losing to heavyweight contenders

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Eddie Machen Edward Mills "Eddie" Machen (June 15, 1932 – August 8, 1972) was an American professional boxer. He was one of 6 children of a rural mail carrier. Machen dropped out of high school and became an amateur boxer. However, after just 3 bouts he wa ...

, and Sonny Liston. After defeating contender

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in December 1959, Valdés retired due to eye problems. After retirement, he worked as a security guard and a bouncer. EL NIÑO VALDÉS WIKI 2

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Nino 1924 births 2001 deaths Heavyweight boxers Boxers from Havana Cuban male boxers