# Rolando Navarrete

Rolando Navarrete (born February 14, 1957) is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1991. He held the WBC super featherweight title from August 1981 and May 1982.

## Fighting style

A fine boxer, Navarrete had a good talent and was known for his hard-hitting punches. Known to be a slugger and one of the greatest Filipino knockout artists.

## Professional career

He first fought for a world title in 1980 against Alexis Argüello but lost by TKO to the legendary champion. On August 29, 1981, he would win the WBC Super featherweight title by knocking out popular fellow southpaw Cornelius Boza-Edwards in the 5th round of a title match held in Italy. He later defended the title against unknown Choi Chung-Il of Korea, stopping the gritty challenger in the 11th round of a controversial bout held in Manila in January 1982. In his second title defense four months later in Las Vegas, Nevada, Navarrete took on Rafael "Bazooka" Limón. The champion led on all scorecards before getting knocked out by Limón in the 12th round. Thereafter, Navarrete's career went downhill and he would never again figure in big-money fights. In 1984, he was convicted of sexual assault and served three years in a Hawaiian prison.
After his release in March 1988, Navarrete went back to the Philippines and embarked on several comeback fights. In one of those fights, he would exact revenge on his old tormentor Limón, winning by decision in a 10-round bout. During his comeback, he was cast alongside fellow boxer Rolando Bohol by comic book writer Carlo J. Caparas in his boxing film Kambal Na Kamao: Madugong Engkwentro, which was released in mid-1988. A series of losses against local fighters and unranked contenders later forced him to retire for good.

## Personal life

Navarrete currently lives in General Santos. A series of failed relationships with different women gave him a total of seven children. One of his sons, Rolando Jr., who fights under his mother's name Rolando Dy, is a professional mixed martial artist.
Troubles outside the ring left Navarrete with no money and the former world champion now sells fish that, according to him, earn him 800 pesos (about 16 dollars) a day. He still trains nowadays with a heavy bag in his home.
He spent three years in a United States prison for rape. Navarrete was also recently involved in various police complaints for wife battery and drugs.
On February 14, 2008, Navarrete, was pronounced out of danger, after being stabbed in the neck by Racman Saliling, a tenant at the boarding house he owns in Bula, General Santos, using an ice pick. Navarrete was also involved in two previous attacks: in 2005, he was hit with a steel pipe by a female neighbor and in 2006, a security guard clubbed his leg with a shotgun at a fishing port.

## Legacy

He is ranked the 9th best super featherweight champion in history, by the World Boxing Council. In 2007, Navarrete was included in "Kamao", an episode of award winning program Sine Totoo, which received the RP's first and only George Foster Peabody Award, the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.
"Kamao", presented the sports of boxing and featured the story of the former world featherweight champion.

## Professional boxing record

| 74 fights | 56 wins | 15 losses |
| By knockout | 33 | 8 |
| By decision | 22 | 7 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 3 | 3 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 74 | Loss | 56-15-3 | William Magahin | TKO | 6 (10) | Jul 31, 1991 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 73 | Loss | 56-14-3 | Bernabe Aliping | UD | 10 | Jun 8, 1991 | Baguio City, Philippines | |
| 72 | Loss | 56-13-3 | Tae Jin Moon | TKO | 9 (10), 1:45 | Jul 20, 1990 | Ninoy Aquino Stadium, District of Malate, Manila, Philippines | |
| 71 | Win | 56-12-3 | Ayuthaya Sithphakamron | KO | 7 (10) | May 18, 1990 | Ninoy Aquino Stadium, District of Malate, Manila, Philippines | |
| 70 | Loss | 55-12-3 | Ramon Marchena Jr. | TD | 5 (12) | Feb 17, 1990 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | For WBC International lightweight title |
| 69 | Loss | 55-11-3 | Tae Jin Moon | KO | 6 (10) | Oct 13, 1989 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 68 | Win | 55-10-3 | Thongberm Lukmatulee | KO | 3 (10) | Jul 11, 1989 | Ninoy Aquino Stadium, District of Malate, Manila, Philippines | |
| 67 | Win | 54-10-3 | Ken Carter | TKO | 1 (10), 1:03 | Apr 22, 1989 | Ninoy Aquino Stadium, District of Malate, Manila, Philippines | |
| 66 | Win | 53-10-3 | Dawthong Chuvatana | TKO | 1 (10), 2:11 | Feb 18, 1989 | Ninoy Aquino Stadium, District of Malate, Manila, Philippines | |
| 65 | Win | 52-10-3 | Rafael Limón | UD | 10 | Dec 23, 1988 | Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Philippines | |
| 64 | Win | 51-10-3 | Jin-Shik Choi | TKO | 6 (10), 2:39 | Nov 5, 1988 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 63 | Win | 50-10-3 | Bisenti Santoso | TKO | 2 (10) | Sep 16, 1988 | Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Philippines | |
| 62 | Win | 49-10-3 | Muhammed Juhari | UD | 10 | Jul 22, 1988 | Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Philippines | |
| 61 | Win | 48-10-3 | Elmer Leonardo | TKO | 2 (10) | May 6, 1988 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 60 | Loss | 47-10-3 | Mario Martinez | TKO | 5 (10), 2:59 | Jun 23, 1984 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 59 | Win | 47-9-3 | Dennis Talbot | KO | 2 (10) | Aug 12, 1983 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 58 | Win | 46-9-3 | Ignacio Jimenez | TKO | 6 (10), 3:00 | Jun 28, 1983 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 57 | Win | 45-9-3 | Saul Mayren | TKO | 6 (10), 2:26 | Jan 28, 1983 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 56 | Win | 44-9-3 | Young-Se Oh | TKO | 8 (10) | Sep 10, 1982 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 55 | Loss | 43-9-3 | Rafael Limón | KO | 12 (15), 3:08 | May 29, 1982 | The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Lost WBC super-featherweight title |
| 54 | Win | 43-8-3 | Choi Chung-il | KO | 11 (15), 1:35 | Jan 16, 1982 | Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Philippines | Retained WBC super-featherweight title |
| 53 | Win | 42-8-3 | Cornelius Boza-Edwards | KO | 5 (15), 1:41 | Aug 29, 1981 | Stadio de Pini, Viareggio, Italy | Won WBC super-featherweight title |
| 52 | Win | 41-8-3 | Blaine Dickson | UD | 10 | Jul 21, 1981 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 51 | Win | 40-8-3 | Johnny Sato | UD | 12 | May 19, 1981 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | Won NABF super-featherweight title |
| 50 | Win | 39-8-3 | Arturo Leon | UD | 10 | Apr 18, 1981 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 49 | Win | 38-8-3 | Refugio Rojas | UD | 10 | Apr 7, 1981 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 48 | Loss | 37-8-3 | Hector Cortez | UD | 10 | Mar 10, 1981 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 47 | Win | 37-7-3 | Rocky Ramon | TKO | 8 (10), 0:47 | Jan 20, 1981 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 46 | Loss | 36-7-3 | Alexis Argüello | RTD | 4 (15), 3:00 | Apr 27, 1980 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico | For WBC super-featherweight title |
| 45 | Win | 36-6-3 | Jerome Artis | TKO | 7 (10), 2:33 | Apr 1, 1980 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 44 | Win | 35-6-3 | Frank Ahumada | UD | 10 | Jan 18, 1980 | Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila, Philippines | |
| 43 | Win | 34-6-3 | Abdul Bey | TKO | 7 (10), 1:31 | Dec 18, 1979 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 42 | Win | 33-6-3 | Blazer Okubo | TKO | 3 (10), 0:51 | Oct 9, 1979 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 41 | Win | 32-6-3 | Miguel Meza | TKO | 7 (10), 0:44 | Aug 28, 1979 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 40 | Win | 31-6-3 | Jose Torres | UD | 10 | Jul 24, 1979 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 39 | Win | 30-6-3 | Frankie Duarte | UD | 10 | Jun 19, 1979 | Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii U.S. | |
| 38 | Draw | 29-6-3 | Thanomchit Sukhothai | PTS | 10 | Mar 18, 1979 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 37 | Win | 29-6-2 | Rey Tam | KO | 4 (10) | Feb 16, 1979 | Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila, Philippines | |
| 36 | Win | 28-6-2 | Pete Alferez | TKO | 2 (10) | Jan 7, 1979 | Cebu Coliseum, Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 35 | Win | 27-6-2 | Nene Jun | UD | 12 | Sep 30, 1978 | Davao City, Philippines | |
| 34 | Win | 26-6-2 | Fernando Cabanela | UD | 12 | Aug 19, 1978 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 33 | Win | 25-6-2 | Nene Jun | MD | 10 | Jul 15, 1978 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 32 | Win | 24-6-2 | Tony Jumao-As | TKO | 4 (10) | May 27, 1978 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 31 | Loss | 23-6-2 | Johnny Sato | TKO | 8 (10) | Dec 31, 1977 | Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines | |
| 30 | Loss | 23-5-2 | Thanomchit Sukhothai | TKO | 9 (10) | Sep 2, 1977 | Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila, Philippines | |
| 29 | Win | 23-4-2 | Ric Quijano | PTS | 10 | Aug 12, 1977 | Davao City, Philippines | |
| 28 | Loss | 22-4-2 | Yung-Shik Kim | SD | 12 | Jun 16, 1977 | Seoul, South Korea | For vacant OPBF bantamweight title |
| 27 | Win | 22-3-2 | Mario Odias | UD | 10 | Jan 29, 1977 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 26 | Win | 21-3-2 | Yung-Shik Kim | TKO | 7 (10) | Nov 13, 1976 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 25 | Win | 20-3-2 | Renato Paulino | KO | 4 (10) | Sep 25, 1976 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 23 | Win | 19-3-2 | Pol Ladeza | TKO | 1 (10) | Aug 21, 1976 | Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines | |
| 23 | Win | 18-3-2 | San Sacristan | TKO | 7 (10) | Jul 31, 1976 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 22 | Loss | 17-3-2 | Paul Ferreri | PTS | 10 | Jun 26, 1976 | Cebu Coliseum, Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 21 | Win | 17-2-2 | Dommy Marolena | UD | 10 | May 15, 1976 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 20 | Win | 16-2-2 | Bernabe Villacampo | TKO | 2 (10) | Jan 31, 1976 | Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 19 | Loss | 15-2-2 | Fernando Cabanela | UD | 12 | Oct 1, 1975 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | Lost Philippines GAB bantamweight title |
| 18 | Win | 15-1-2 | Danny Reyes | TKO | 6 (10) | Aug 31, 1975 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 17 | Win | 14-1-2 | Go Mifune | TKO | 2 (10) | Aug 1, 1975 | Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila, Philippines | |
| 16 | Win | 13-1-2 | Rey Naduma Jr. | TKO | 3 (10) | Jun 14, 1975 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 15 | Win | 12-1-2 | San Sacristan | KO | 4 (10) | Mar 14, 1975 | Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | |
| 14 | Win | 11-1-2 | Conrado Vasquez | UD | 12 | Feb 15, 1975 | General Santos, Philippines | Won Philippines GAB bantamweight title |
| 13 | Win | 10-1-2 | Rene Cruz Jr. | TKO | 7 (10) | Jan 24, 1975 | Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila, Philippines | |
| 12 | Win | 9-1-2 | Dodo Quilario | MD | 10 | Nov 29, 1974 | Davao City, Philippines | |
| 11 | Win | 8-1-2 | Willie Abenir | UD | 10 | Oct 18, 1974 | Santa Ana Park (PRC), Manila, Philippines | |
| 10 | Loss | 7-1-2 | Roberto Cinco | MD | 10 | Jul 20, 1974 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 9 | Draw | 7-0-2 | Julius Gonzaga | PTS | 10 | Jun 12, 1974 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 8 | Win | 7-0-1 | Mar Belimac | TKO | 6 (6) | Dec 22, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 7 | Win | 6-0-1 | Ernie Sun | TKO | 2 (8) | Nov 24, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 6 | Draw | 5-0-1 | Jimmie Verongue | PTS | 8 | Nov 10, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 5 | Win | 5-0 | Cris Espinosa | UD | 8 | Oct 13, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 4 | Win | 4-0 | Abdul Maratan | UD | 6 | Jun 23, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 3 | Win | 3-0 | Cris Espinosa | DQ | ? (6) | Apr 14, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 2 | Win | 2-0 | Quirino Peligro | UD | 6 | Mar 24, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |
| 1 | Win | 1-0 | Eddie Clementos | UD | 4 | Feb 17, 1973 | General Santos, Philippines | |