# Ernesto España

Ernesto España (born November 7, 1954) is a Venezuelan former professional boxer who held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship in 1979 and 1980.

## Career

España became a professional boxer in 1975 and won all of his bouts except one, including one in 1981, when he beat future champion Arturo Frias. España fought Claude Noel on June 16, 1979, for the vacant WBA lightweight title that had been given up by Roberto Durán. España knocked out Noel in the thirteenth round to win the title. He defended it once, recuperating from a knockdown in round seven before knocking out Johnny Lira in round nine of a fight which has been showcased on ESPN Classic, before losing the title to Hilmer Kenty by knockout in round nine in March 1980. In a rematch in September, Kenty knocked España out again, this time in the fourth round.
For a period during this era, España was a resident of Puerto Rico.
When Frias won the WBA lightweight title, España challenged him but Frias avenged his only loss and won a technical decision over España in 1982.
España's next fight was another challenge for the WBA lightweight title, but this time Ray Mancini knocked him out in six rounds in July 1982. España never challenged for a world title again and retired in 1988.

## Professional boxing record

| 44 fights | 36 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 29 | 3 |
| By decision | 7 | 5 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 44 | Loss | 36–8 | Michael Benjamin | UD | 12 | Aug 29, 1988 | National Park, Georgetown, Guyana | For vacant WBC Continental Americas lightweight title |
| 43 | Loss | 36–7 | Lester Ellis | UD | 10 | Mar 13, 1987 | Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 42 | Win | 36–6 | Junel Rodriguez | PTS | 12 | Jun 1, 1985 | Caracas, Venezuela | Won vacant WBC FECARBOX lightweight title |
| 41 | Loss | 35–6 | Rafael Williams | MD | 10 | Jan 19, 1985 | Arena Panama Al Brown, Colón City, Panama | |
| 40 | Loss | 35–5 | Ray Mancini | TKO | 6 (15), 2:59 | Jul 24, 1982 | Mollenkopf Stadium, Warren, Ohio, U.S. | For WBA lightweight title |
| 39 | Loss | 35–4 | Arturo Frias | TD | 9 (15), 0:26 | Jan 30, 1982 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | For WBA lightweight title; Unanimous technical decision |
| 38 | Win | 35–3 | Eduardo Iriarte | PTS | 10 | Nov 17, 1981 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 37 | Win | 34–3 | Jose Rosas | TKO | 5 (10) | Oct 26, 1981 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 36 | Win | 33–3 | Alvin Fowler | TKO | 3 (10) | Aug 24, 1981 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 35 | Win | 32–3 | Jong Kil Chung | TKO | 6 (10) | Jul 20, 1981 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 34 | Win | 31–3 | Arturo Frias | MD | 10 | May 30, 1981 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 33 | Win | 30–3 | Jose Ortiz | KO | 2 (10) | May 9, 1981 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 32 | Win | 29–3 | Ki Hoon Kwak | KO | 5 (10) | Apr 13, 1981 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 31 | Win | 28–3 | Eduardo Iriarte | PTS | 10 | Feb 21, 1981 | El Poliedro, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 30 | Loss | 27–3 | Hilmer Kenty | TKO | 4 (15), 2:57 | Sep 20, 1980 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico | For WBA lightweight title |
| 29 | Loss | 27–2 | Hilmer Kenty | TKO | 9 (15), 2:53 | Mar 2, 1980 | Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | Lost WBA lightweight title |
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Johnny Lira | RTD | 9 (15), 3:00 | Aug 4, 1979 | Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Retained WBA lightweight title |
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Claude Noel | KO | 13 (15) | Jun 16, 1979 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico | Won vacant WBA lightweight title |
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Eddie Bracetty | TKO | 1 (10) | Mar 25, 1979 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Fernando Jimenez | TKO | 6 (10) | Feb 19, 1979 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Johnny Barr | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 28, 1978 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Bienvenido Quinto | TKO | 1 (10) | Sep 9, 1978 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Tony Arias | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 12, 1978 | Maestranza Cesar Giron, Maracay, Venezuela | |
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Teodoro Osuna | KO | 1 (10) | Jul 8, 1978 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Gerardo Aceves | KO | 2 (10) | Apr 22, 1978 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Angel Rosas | TKO | 3 (10) | Aug 27, 1977 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Salvador Torres | KO | 1 (10) | Jul 3, 1977 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Milton Mendez | KO | 1 (10) | May 15, 1977 | Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Isaac Marin | TKO | 5 (10) | Jan 30, 1977 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Ricardo Arredondo | PTS | 10 | Nov 14, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Andres Fernandez | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 16, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Rolando Martinez | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 29, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Clemente Mucino | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 22, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Julio Pena | TKO | 1 (10) | Jul 11, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Juan Sarmiento | TKO | 3 (10) | Jun 13, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Luis Beltran Rodriguez | PTS | 10 | Mar 6, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Danton Morillo | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 28, 1976 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Cesar Chavez | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 18, 1976 | Maturín, Venezuela | |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Ruben Arias | KO | 1 (6) | Nov 17, 1975 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | |
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | Luis Romero | TKO | 2 (6) | Oct 4, 1975 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 4 | Loss | 3–1 | Luis Beltran Rodriguez | PTS | 6 | Aug 25, 1975 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Freddy Briceno | TKO | 3 (6) | Aug 8, 1975 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jose Figuerero | PTS | 4 | Jul 14, 1975 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Hernan Rodriguez | TKO | 1 (4) | Mar 17, 1975 | Caracas, Venezuela | |

## Personal life

His brother Crisanto España won the WBA world welterweight title in the early 1990s, when he beat Meldrick Taylor and lost it in his third defense to Ike Quartey.