Rafael Solis De Jesus (born 29 January 1958, in

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras () (Spanish language, Spanish for ''stones river'') is a highly urbanized commercial and residential district in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico. Adjacent to th ...

) is a former

junior lightweight 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 ...

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 ...

. He was raised in the ''barrio'' of Camito. Rafael trained at the ''Caimito Gym'', and also frequented the Bairoa Gym. Solis is the brother of Enrique Solis, Santos Solis and former world bantamweight champion Julian Solís. He is the son of Jose Julian Solis and Gloria De Jesus.http://www.famadeportesrp.org/exaltados/perfiles/2014/rafael.html Solis had a successful

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 ...

career, fighting in many

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

countries, such as

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and others. On October 2, 1982, Solis won the ''Fecarbox'' (Central American Professional Boxing Federation)

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 ...

title,

knocking out 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, a ...

Aquilino Asprilla in the 6th round. On November 18, 1983, he challenged

Héctor Camacho Héctor Luís Camacho Matías (May 24, 1962 – November 24, 2012), commonly known by his nickname "Macho", which also refers to strong men who do not show weakness. Camacho was a Puerto Rican professional boxer anentertainer Known for his qui ...

for the WBC's world Jr. Lightweight title. In what was the second time two Puerto Rican fighters fought each other for a world title (the first time was Benitez vs. Santos in 1981), Solis lost to Camacho by knockout in round five at

Roberto Clemente Coliseum Roberto Clemente Coliseum (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the large ...

. Solis last boxed in 1995 and retired with a record of 30 wins (20 by knockout), 13 losses (11 by knockout), and 2 draws.

Personal

He has a son, Rafael, Jr.

Honors

In 2014, he was inducted into the Rio Piedras Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

Rafael Solis boxing recordThe Miami News - Sep 29, 1982 Google News Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solis, Rafael 1959 births Living people Rafael Solis Sportspeople from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Boxers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male boxers Super-featherweight boxers 20th-century American sportsmen