José "King" Roman (born December 17, 1946) is a Puerto Rican former

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 ...

who was

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 ...

's first world heavyweight championship challenger. He is known as "Joe King Roman." He holds notable victories over Manuel Ramos and ex-Light Heavyweight champion

Vicente Rondon Vicente is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Places *São Vicente, Cape Verde, an i ...

Pro career

In Roman's early career, he achieved mixed results. He defeated people like

Jack O'Halloran Jack O'Halloran (born April 8, 1943) is an American actor and former professional boxer. As a heavyweight, he fought in 57 professional boxing matches (including fights with future heavyweight champions George Foreman and Ken Norton) between 196 ...

and

Chuck Wepner Charles Wepner (born February 26, 1939) is an American former professional boxer. He fell just nineteen seconds short of a full fifteen rounds against world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 championship fight. Wepner also scored notab ...

but lost to

Jack Bodell Jack Bodell (11 August 1940 – 9 November 2016) was an English professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Boxing career Born in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, Bodell started out as a light heavyweight, winning the 1961 ABA cham ...

. After the Bodell loss, Roman had a win-streak, defeating O'Halloran once again and besting Manuel Ramos. He lost to Robie Harris but put together a streak of wins before fighting George Foreman.

Foreman Fight

In late August 1973, he travelled to

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, to challenge world Heavyweight champion

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

, losing by a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

in the first round on September 1. Roman's corner protested that Foreman hit him while Roman was down, although no action was taken on this complaint. Photos exist that seem to corroborate Roman's corner's version of events. Even though he lost, he made history by becoming the first Puerto Rican to challenge for the world's Heavyweight championship. The only fellow Puerto Ricans to challenge for the heavyweight championship are

Ossie Ocasio Osvaldo "Ossie" Ocasio (born August 12, 1955) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who held the World Cruiserweight Championship from 1982 to 1984. He was also a Top Contender and Heavyweight Challenger in 1979. He scored notable wins against Former ...

Fres Oquendo Fres Oquendo (born April 1, 1973) is a Puerto Rican former professional heavyweight boxer. He had a successful amateur record before turning professional in 1997. He unsuccessfully challenged three times for world heavyweight titles. Amateur car ...

and

John Ruiz John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a ...

, who later became the first Latino to hold a version of the heavyweight championship.

Afterwards

Roman held a win over former WBA world Light Heavyweight champion

just after the Foreman fight, his first win afterwards. In 1975 he lost to Mike Quarry and later in the year he began a series of losses. He lost seven times, notably losing to Jimmy Young. Roman was defeated by

Boone Kirkman Daniel Victor "Boone" Kirkman (born February 6, 1945) is a former professional heavyweight boxing, boxer. He was a Contender throughout his career and scored notable victories over Heavyweight World Champion Jimmy Ellis (boxer), Jimmy Ellis, as ...

afterwards, in 1977, but never achieved a notable fight afterwards, having a mixed record.

Retirement

Roman retired in 1981 with a record of 54 wins, 27 losses and 4 draws, with 27 knockout wins. He used to work at a

Sweetbay Supermarket Sweetbay Supermarket was a chain of American supermarkets located in Florida. The first Sweetbay Supermarket to open was in Seminole, Florida, in November 2004. The company's headquarters was located near Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florid ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Ossie Ocasio and Fres Oquendo also challenged for the world's heavyweight championship, both are also from Puerto Rico. Ruiz was born in the USA of Puerto Rican ancestry.

Professional boxing record

Personal

He has a daughter, Selina, who is an artist. There is a mural in Tampa Bay that depicts him and dr.

Ferdie Pacheco Fernando Pacheco Jimenez (December 8, 1927 – November 16, 2017) known publicly as Ferdie Pacheco, was the personal physician and cornerman for world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali as well as numerous other boxing champions. Pachec ...

, a well-known television boxing pundit.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Jose 1946 births Living people Sportspeople from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male boxers Heavyweight boxers 20th-century American sportsmen