Miguel Lora Escudero (born April 12, 1961 in

Montería Montería () is a municipality and city located in northern Colombia and the capital of the Departments of Colombia, Department of Córdoba Department, Córdoba. The city is located away from the Caribbean sea, by the Sinú River. The city and r ...

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

), known as Miguel Lora or "Happy" Lora is a Colombian boxer. He reigned as the WBC bantamweight champion of the world from 1985 to 1988.

Beginnings and world title

Lora started training in his native Montería and eventually represented his home department. In 1977 he won a gold medal in a local tournament. From 1980 to 1983 he won several national and regional titles. On August 9, 1985 he got his first chance to fight for the championship against Mexican

Daniel Zaragoza Daniel Zaragoza (born December 11, 1957) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title in 1985 and the WBC super ...

. Lora defeated Zaragoza to become the fifth Colombian world champion.

Memorable bouts

After the world title, Lora fought Puerto Rican

Wilfredo Vázquez Wilfredo Vázquez Olivera (born August 2, 1960) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 2002. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA bantamweight title from 1987 to 1988, the WBA s ...

. He defended his belt eight times and fought boxers such as Alberto Davila, Antonio Avelar,

Ray Minus Ray Minus (3 July 1964 – 27 April 2023) was a Bahamian professional bantam/ super bantam/feather/ super feather/light/light welterweight boxer of the 1980s, '90s and 2000s who won the Bahamas lightweight title, Bahamas light welterweight titl ...

, Lucio Omar López, until he lost against Raúl "Jíbaro" Pérez. During the three years that Miguel "Happy" Lora kept his title, he was known for his defensive, methodical style.

Professional boxing record

Retirement

After his loss to Raúl "Jíbaro" Pérez, he fought for a world title against

Gaby Canizales Jose 'Gaby' Canizales (born May 1, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who won the Lineal championship in the bantamweight division. Early life Canizales was born in Laredo in Webb County, Texas. Pro career Canizales turned pro in ...

, who won by knockout and eventually dislodged Lora's fifth cervical vertebrae. Miguel "Happy" Lora decided to retire form boxing in 1993 and since then he has been living in his native Montería, dedicated to personal business, TV shows and soap operas.

References

External links