Luis Alberto Estaba (August 13, 1938 – February 16, 2025) was a Venezuelan boxer. Born in

Güiria Güiria is the capital city of Valdez Municipality in the Venezuelan States of Venezuela, state of Sucre (state), Sucre. Güiria was the place where the Spanish American wars of independence, military campaign for South American independence set ...

, he was nicknamed ''Lumumba'', most commonly said to be because of his resemblance to Congolese leader

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...

Biography

A late starter into

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, Estaba became a professional in 1967, at the relatively old (for boxing) age of 29. He beat Pedro Garcia 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 one on February 28 of that year. He kept his winning streak until losing a ten round decision to Natalio Jimenez in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

in 1968. He avenged that loss immediately by beating Jimenez in his next fight, by decision. After two more wins, he had his first fight abroad, when he lost to Jimenez, again by decision, at

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. On September 13, 1975, Estaba became boxing's second world champion ever in the Jr. Flyweight division, when he obtained the vacant WBC title by knocking out Rafael Lovera in the fourth round, who was making his professional debut during this world title bout. He defended the title 12 times, including victories over former or future world champions Franco Udella, Rafael Pedroza, and Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh. In 1977, he was named ''Venezuelan Athlete of the Year''. His luck ran out on February 19, 1978, when he lost the title to Mexico's Freddie Castillo by a knockout in round 14. After beating Ricardo Estupinan by a decision in 15 to win the ''Central American'' title in his division, he challenged Vorasingh (who had beaten Castillo) for the world title. Estaba lost by a knockout in five rounds on July 29, in what he knew would be his last fight as a professional, because local Venezuelan boxing laws ban anyone over 40 years old to box professionally, and Estaba turned 40 only two weeks after that fight. Being forced into retirement, he left the sport of boxing with 41 wins, 9 losses and 2 draws, 27 wins having been by knockout. Estaba died on February 16, 2025, at the age of 86.Luto en el boxeo: Fallece el excapeón venezolano Luis “Lumumba” Estaba

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Estaba, Luis 1938 births 2025 deaths People from Güiria Sportspeople from Sucre (state) Venezuelan male boxers World Boxing Council champions Light-flyweight boxers World light-flyweight boxing champions 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen

Biography

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