Louie Espinoza (born May 12, 1962) is an American boxer in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division. He now resides in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, fourth-most populous city in Arizona ...

. Espinoza turned pro in 1982 and won the Vacant WBA Super

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

Title in 1987 by defeating Tommy Valoy, becoming the first world champion boxer from Arizona in history. He defended the title twice before losing it to Julio Gervacio later that year. In 1989 he took on IBF Featherweight Title holder

Jorge Páez Jorge Adolfo Páez (born October 27, 1965) is a Mexican actor, circus performer and former professional boxer. In boxing he held the WBO and IBF featherweight titles. Paez's nickname of ''"El Maromero"'' is in honor of the somersault (referred ...

but came up short in a draw. He won the WBO Featherweight Title later that year by beating Maurizio Stecca by TKO, but lost the belt the following year in a close decision loss in a rematch with Páez.

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* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinoza, Louie 1962 births Living people Featherweight boxers World featherweight boxing champions Super-bantamweight boxers World super-bantamweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Organization champions People from Globe, Arizona Boxers from Arizona Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona American male boxers People from Winkelman, Arizona 20th-century American sportsmen