# Rafael Herrera

Rafael Herrera (born 7 January 1945) is a Mexican former professional boxer. He won the Undisputed Bantamweight Championship in 1972 and was a two-time WBC bantamweight champion.

## Professional career

Herrera turned pro in 1963 and in 1972 defeated Rubén Olivares by TKO to capture the Lineal, WBC and WBA bantamweight titles. He lost the titles in his first defense to Enrique Pinder. Pinder was stripped of the WBC title after this fight for failure to defend against Rodolfo Martinez. Herrera fought Martinez for the vacant WBC bantamweight title the following year and won by TKO, a fight in which Martinez down four times (twice in 4th, twice in 11th), and Herrera was down in the 8th. He defended the title twice before losing it in 1974 in a rematch with Martinez. The outcome of the bout was controversial, as Herrera was on his feet at the count of 7 after being knocked down and was asked by the referee if he could continue. Herrera nodded "yes" but a split second later the referee raised Martinez' hand and declared him the winner. Herrera lurched forward but the referee contained him. The ensuing conversation between Herrera and the referee was heard on the national TV broadcast.

## Professional boxing record

| 60 fights | 47 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 20 | 3 |
| By decision | 27 | 6 |
| Draws | 4 | 4 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 60 | Win | 47–9–4 | Alfredo Meneses | MD | 4 | 1986-02-25 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 59 | Draw | 46–9–4 | Jose Cervantes | MD | 12 | 1976-05-23 | Maestranza Cesar Giron, Maracay, Venezuela | |
| 58 | Loss | 46–9–3 | Jose Luis Soto | UD | 10 | 1975-11-10 | Los Mochis, Mexico | |
| 57 | Loss | 46–8–3 | Octavio Gomez | UD | 10 | 1975-07-05 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 56 | Loss | 46–7–3 | Rodolfo Martínez | TKO | 4 (15) | 1974-12-07 | Plaza de Toros, Mérida, Mexico | Lost WBC bantamweight title |
| 55 | Win | 46–6–3 | Romeo Anaya | TKO | 6 (15) | 1974-05-25 | Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBC bantamweight title |
| 54 | Win | 45–6–3 | Venice Borkhorsor | SD | 15 | 1973-10-13 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | Retained WBC bantamweight title |
| 53 | Win | 44–6–3 | Rodolfo Martínez | TKO | 12 (15) | 1973-04-14 | Monterrey, Mexico | Won vacant WBC bantamweight title |
| 52 | Win | 43–6–3 | Rubén Olivares | MD | 10 | 1972-11-14 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 51 | Loss | 42–6–3 | Enrique Pinder | UD | 15 | 1972-07-29 | Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama | Lost WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles |
| 50 | Win | 42–5–3 | Rubén Olivares | KO | 8 (15) | 1972-03-19 | Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico | Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles |
| 49 | Win | 41–5–3 | Chucho Castillo | SD | 12 | 1971-08-23 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | Retained NABF bantamweight title |
| 48 | Win | 40–5–3 | Modesto Boy Dayaganon | KO | 2 (8) | 1971-06-14 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 47 | Win | 39–5–3 | Cesar Deciga | TKO | 10 (10) | 1971-04-02 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 46 | Win | 38–5–3 | Rodolfo Martinez | MD | 12 | 1971-01-20 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | Won vacant NABF bantamweight title |
| 45 | Win | 37–5–3 | Octavio Gomez | UD | 10 | 1970-09-05 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 44 | Win | 36–5–3 | Jose Lopez | UD | 10 | 1970-04-18 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 43 | Win | 35–5–3 | Cesar Chuy Chavez | TKO | 2 (8) | 1970-03-17 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 42 | Win | 34–5–3 | Yoshiki Suda | KO | 3 (10) | 1970-01-20 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 41 | Win | 33–5–3 | Lenny Brice | TKO | 3 (10) | 1969-09-25 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 40 | Loss | 32–5–3 | Raul Cruz | SD | 10 | 1969-07-26 | Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 39 | Draw | 32–4–3 | Billy McGrandle | SD | 10 | 1969-04-17 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| 38 | Win | 32–4–2 | Ricardo Solis | TKO | 5 (10) | 1969-03-29 | Plaza de Toros, Torreón, Mexico | |
| 37 | Win | 31–4–2 | Ken Nagamine | UD | 10 | 1969-03-04 | Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California, U.S. | |
| 36 | Loss | 30–4–2 | Chucho Castillo | TKO | 3 (12) | 1969-02-15 | Plaza de Toros Monumental, Monterrey, Mexico | For Mexico bantamweight title |
| 35 | Win | 30–3–2 | Jerry Stokes | UD | 10 | 1968-12-19 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 34 | Win | 29–3–2 | Lenny Brice | UD | 10 | 1968-11-21 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 33 | Win | 28–3–2 | Guillermo Tellez | TKO | 9 (10) | 1968-09-28 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 32 | Win | 27–3–2 | Ronnie Jones | TKO | 3 (10) | 1968-08-03 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 31 | Win | 26–3–2 | Santos Sandoval | TKO | 2 (10) | 1968-06-29 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 30 | Win | 25–3–2 | Raul Vega | UD | 10 | 1968-03-30 | Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 29 | Win | 24–3–2 | Alex Rivera | UD | 10 | 1967-12-05 | Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S. | |
| 28 | Win | 23–3–2 | Ricardo Solis | KO | 5 (10) | 1967-10-17 | Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S. | |
| 27 | Draw | 22–3–2 | Lupe Gonzalez | TD | 8 (10) | 1967-09-19 | Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S. | |
| 26 | Win | 22–3–1 | Elias Vargas | UD | 10 | 1967-08-18 | San Bernardino, California, U.S. | |
| 25 | Win | 21–3–1 | Elias Vargas | UD | 10 | 1967-07-06 | Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 24 | Win | 20–3–1 | Alex Rivera | UD | 10 | 1967-06-05 | Memorial Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California, U.S. | |
| 23 | Win | 19–3–1 | Antonio Perez | UD | 10 | 1967-05-16 | San Jose, California, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 18–3–1 | Jose Hernandez | UD | 6 | 1967-04-06 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 17–3–1 | Manuel Magallanes | UD | 6 | 1967-03-02 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 20 | Draw | 16–3–1 | Gerardo Luna | MD | 10 | 1967-01-21 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 19 | Win | 16–3 | Alfredo Meneses | UD | 10 | 1966-11-16 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 18 | Win | 15–3 | Cornelio Vega | UD | 10 | 1966-07-13 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 17 | Win | 14–3 | Gerardo Luna | UD | 10 | 1966-06-08 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 16 | Win | 13–3 | Coruco Contreras | KO | 10 (10) | 1966-01-06 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 15 | Win | 12–3 | Coruco Contreras | KO | 8 (10) | 1965-11-08 | Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico | |
| 14 | Win | 11–3 | Alfredo Meneses | UD | 10 | 1965-10-09 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 13 | Loss | 10–3 | Gerardo Luna | UD | 10 | 1965-05-01 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 12 | Win | 10–2 | Rogelio Rea | TKO | 4 (8) | 1965-04-03 | Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 11 | Win | 9–2 | Cid Cardenas | UD | 8 | 1965-01-27 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 10 | Win | 8–2 | Andres Molina | TKO | 7 (8) | 1964-11-21 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 9 | Win | 7–2 | Alfonso Izquierdo | UD | 6 | 1964-10-10 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 8 | Win | 6–2 | Miguel Zamudio | TKO | 8 (8) | 1964-09-20 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 7 | Win | 5–2 | Jose Luis Madrid | TKO | 2 (6) | 1964-08-26 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 6 | Loss | 4–2 | Jose Luis Madrid | KO | 4 (6) | 1964-02-07 | Poza Rica, Mexico | |
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 | Alfonso Jose Cazares | SD | 6 | 1963-09-21 | Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | David Monroy | UD | 6 | 1963-07-13 | Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Wenceslao Angeles | UD | 4 | 1963-05-25 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Raul Martinez | UD | 4 | 1963-04-17 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Memo Gonzalez | UD | 4 | 1963-03-20 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |

## Titles in boxing
### Major world titles

* WBA bantamweight champion (118 lbs)
* WBC bantamweight champion (118 lbs) (2×)

### The Ring magazine titles

* The Ring bantamweight champion (118 lbs)

### Regional/International titles

* NABF bantamweight champion (118 lbs)

### Undisputed titles

* Undisputed bantamweight champion

## Personal life

Born into a large working-class family, Herrera originally wanted to be a priest. In 1971 he married Leticia, his longtime wife with whom he had two daughters.