# Paul Banke

Paul Andre Banke (/ˈbæŋki/ BANK-ee; born March 1, 1964) is a former World Boxing Council Super Bantamweight champion boxer, and is the first American boxer to go public with an AIDS diagnosis. Having lived 29 years after being diagnosed with AIDS, Banke, who accepted medical treatment, is the longest living professional boxer with the disease.

## Career

Banke turned pro in 1985. After losing a 12-round split decision to Daniel Zaragoza in June 1989, Banke captured the WBC Super Bantamweight Title in April 1990 with an upset ninth-round TKO victory over Daniel Zaragoza. He defended his title once in August 1990 with a twelfth round stoppage of undefeated Ki Hoon Lee in South Korea, knocking Lee down three times. He was knocked down three times in the fourth round, and lost his WBC title to Pedro Ruben Decima by fourth round stoppage in November 1990. Banke lost five of his last six bouts, including a 12-round WBC rematch title loss to Zaragoza in their third meeting. After a ten-round decision loss to winless 0-8 Mexican journeyman Juan Francisco Soto in December 1993, Banke retired at age 29 with a record of 21–9 with 11 knockouts.

## Later life

Banke, who battled drug use during his career and overcame it, was diagnosed with AIDS in 1995, approximately two years after his final fight. After returning to drug use, Banke successfully completed a drug rehab program. Banke, who resides in Los Feliz, California, has chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as dementia pugilistica, an aftereffect from his professional boxing career. Chronic traumatic encephopathy is a neurodegenerative disease resulting from repeated head trauma.

## Professional boxing record

| 30 fights | 21 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 3 |
| By decision | 10 | 6 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 30 | Loss | 21–9 | Juan Francisco Soto | PTS | 10 (10) | 1993-12-06 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 29 | Loss | 21–8 | Antonio Ramirez | MD | 10 (10) | 1993-08-28 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 28 | Loss | 21–7 | Kennedy McKinney | RTD | 6 (12) | 1992-03-20 | Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 27 | Loss | 21–6 | Daniel Zaragoza | UD | 12 (12) | 1991-12-09 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | For WBC super bantamweight title |
| 26 | Win | 21–5 | Antonio Ramirez | UD | 10 (10) | 1991-10-26 | Desert Expo Center, Indio, California, U.S. | |
| 25 | Loss | 20–5 | Pedro Rubén Décima | TKO | 4 (12) | 1990-11-05 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | Lost WBC super bantamweight title |
| 24 | Win | 20–4 | Ki Joon Lee | TKO | 12 (12) | 1990-08-18 | Sunin Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea | Retained WBC super bantamweight title |
| 23 | Win | 19–4 | Daniel Zaragoza | TKO | 9 (12) | 1990-04-23 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | Won WBC super bantamweight title |
| 22 | Win | 18–4 | Lucilo Nolasco | SD | 10 (10) | 1989-12-08 | Richfield High School, Richfield, Utah, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 17–4 | José Luis Soto | KO | 2 (10) | 1989-10-12 | Richfield High School, Richfield, Utah, U.S. | |
| 20 | Loss | 16–4 | Daniel Zaragoza | SD | 12 (12) | 1989-06-22 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | For WBC super bantamweight title |
| 19 | Win | 16–3 | Ramiro Adames | TKO | 6 (12) | 1989-01-09 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | Won vacant WBA Americas super bantamweight title |
| 18 | Win | 15–3 | Carlos Romero | TKO | 11 (12) | 1988-09-13 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 14–3 | Robert Shannon | UD | 10 (10) | 1988-07-13 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 13–3 | Alberto Mercado | KO | 3 (10) | 1988-05-09 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 12–3 | Lucilo Nolasco | PTS | 10 (10) | 1988-03-07 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 11–3 | Ramon Rico | PTS | 10 (10) | 1987-12-11 | Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S. | |
| 13 | Loss | 10–3 | Jesus Poll | KO | 7 (12) | 1987-08-13 | Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 10–2 | Héctor Lizárraga | UD | 10 (10) | 1987-07-15 | Raincross Square, Riverside, California, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 9–2 | Tony Talley | TKO | 6 (8) | 1987-06-12 | Raincross Square, Riverside, California, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 8–2 | Willie Garcia | KO | 2 (5) | 1987-05-28 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 9 | Loss | 7–2 | Andre Smith | MD | 8 (8) | 1987-04-20 | Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, U.S. | |
| 8 | Loss | 7–1 | Pete Solarez | PTS | 5 (5) | 1986-08-05 | Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ralph Gutierrez | UD | 4 (4) | 1986-07-25 | Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ralph Gutierrez | UD | 4 (4) | 1986-06-13 | Sahara Hotel & Casino, Space Center, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Arturo Lozado | UD | 6 (6) | 1986-02-07 | Cal Poly Pomona Gym, Pomona, California, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Juvenal Molina | PTS | 4 (4) | 1985-11-20 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Miguel Rodella | KO | 2 (4) | 1985-11-17 | Coachella Valley High School, Thermal, California, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Mike Perez | KO | 3 (4) | 1985-08-24 | Pride Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Elmer Mejia | TKO | 2 (4) | 1985-08-03 | Pony Express, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | |