Edwin Viruet (born 20 August 1950 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) is a retired professional

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 ...

from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. His brother Adolfo was also a professional boxer. Viruet made his professional debut in 1969. Among his early opponents were

Saoul Mamby Saoul Paul Mamby (June 4, 1947 – December 19, 2019) was an American professional boxer who fought between 1969 and 2008. He held the WBC super lightweight title from 1980 to 1982. Personal Mamby was born in South Bronx, New York, to Victor ...

, a future world

light-welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

champion, against whom he earned a draw; and

Alfredo Escalera Alfredo "El Salsero" Escalera (born March 21, 1952) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer and is the former World Boxing Council Super Featherweight world champion. A native of Carolina, his nickname was "Salsero" because he was a fan o ...

, a future world

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...

champion, against whom he won a decision. Viruet also defeated Vilomar Fernandez. In 1975, Viruet was matched with

Roberto Durán Roberto Carlos Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held quadruple champion, world championships in four weight classes: Lightweight, welterweight, light middleweigh ...

, the reigning world

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

champion, in a non-title fight. Viruet lost by a unanimous decision. Two years later he fought Durán again, this time with Durán's world title on the line, and again lost a unanimous decision. Viruet continued to fight top contenders, losing to

Esteban De Jesús Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend t ...

and

Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...

but defeating Josue Marquez by tenth round knockout. He finally retired in 1983.

Academy

As of 2024, Viruet ran the Edwin Viruet Boxing academy in the Bronx.

References

External links

* 1950 births Living people Lightweight boxers Puerto Rican male boxers 20th-century American sportsmen {{PuertoRico-boxing-bio-stub