Vincente Saldivar : A Mexican Ledgend

[The_budweiser]

The 1960s spawned many great fighters: Dick Tiger, Jose Torres, Emile Griffith, Luis Rodriguez, and Carlos Ortiz just to name a few. One of the best of this era was a 5'3" southpaw from Mexico City named Vicente Saldivar. He ruled the featherweight division for three years and then retired. He decided to come back and two and a half years after he gave up his crown, he reclaimed it.

 

This boxing legend was born on March 5, 1943. He started his professional career in 1961 and quickly showed that he was a budding star. Saldivar won his first sixteen fights and scored thirteen knockouts. He suffered his first loss in December of 1962 when he was disqualified in a bout against Baby Luis. In 1963, Saldivar made great strides in the rankings. He halted the respected Dwight Hawkins in five rounds. He avenged his loss by stopping Baby Luis in eight rounds. There was also an impressive one round win over Eloy Sanchez.

 

On February 8, 1964, Saldivar captured the Mexican featherweight title by knocking out Juan Ramirez in two rounds. He defended the title with a twelve round points win over tough Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero. Then on June 1st, Vicente won a very important bout against future lightweight champion Ismael Laguna. Saldivar outscored the clever Laguna in ten rounds.

 

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