# Vicente Saldivar

Vicente Samuel Saldívar García (May 3, 1943 – July 18, 1985) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed between 1961 and 1973. He was a two-time featherweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles from 1964 until his retirement in 1967. He came back and once again held the WBC and The Ring titles in 1970. Saldivar has frequently been ranked amongst the greatest in the history of that division by many noted boxing historians and critics. He currently holds the record for the most wins in unified featherweight title bouts and the longest unified featherweight championship reign in boxing history at 8 title bouts and 7 title defenses respectively. Saldívar fought in front of the fourth largest crowd ever, 90,000 in Estadio Azteca, and has also regularly been cited as one of the finest left-handed fighters of all time.

## Childhood

Saldívar was born in one of the many poor quarters of Mexico City and is one of seven children. He used to get in fights on the streets and in school, so his father decided to channel the misguided energy into boxing. Like many other Mexicans his father was a big boxing fan, so it was a logical move. He was taught by Jose Moreno, a veteran trainer of a nearby Mexico City boxing gym.

## Fighting style

As a southpaw, Saldívar was a dynamic fighter in the ring. He could box or brawl, and often softened opponents with a brutal body attack. Among his greatest assets was his stamina; he scored seven knockouts after the 7th round. Saldívar had an unusually slow heart and pulse rate, which he claimed was the secret of the phenomenal pace he was able to maintain in the ring.

## Amateur career

Saldívar had a successful amateur career, crowned with a Mexican Golden Gloves title at bantamweight. At seventeen years old, he was included into the 1960 Olympic team, but was eliminated in the first bout of the Rome tournament by Ernst Chervet of Switzerland.

## Professional career

Saldívar turned professional in 1961 and won the Mexican featherweight title with a second-round knockout of Juan Ramírez on February 8, 1964. His first major victory came on June 1 of that same year when he defeated future lightweight champion and hall of fame member Ismael Laguna. Before challenging for a world title, he accumulated a record of 25–1, with his sole loss avenged by knockout.

### WBC and WBA Featherweight Championships

On September 26, 1964, Saldívar won the WBA and WBC Featherweight titles by upsetting fellow Mexican fighter and future hall of famer Sugar Ramos with an 11th-round knockout in an extremely bloody battle. His first reign as champion would last three years, in which Saldívar made eight successful title defenses. The reign was highlighted by his trilogy with Howard Winstone.
In his first title defense, he defeated future champion Raul Rojas. On September 7, 1965, he defeated Winstone in their first meeting with a 15-round decision . Following that victory, he defeated Floyd Robertson by second round knock out. He then defeated Mitsunori Seki in two consecutive bouts. On June 15, 1967, Saldívar defeated Winston once again by a 15-round decision. In 1996, Ring magazine included their second meeting on their list of the 100 greatest title fights of all-time. In the final installment of their trilogy, he defeated Winston by 12th round knock out. Saldivar announced his retirement after that contest in October 1967. Three months later, Winstone won recognition as WBC featherweight champion, claiming the belt left vacant by Saldivar, by defeating Mitsunori Seki with a 9th-round stoppage due to a cut right eye.

### Return to the ring

After 21 months of inactivity, Saldívar returned to the ring on July 18, 1969, and won a 10-round unanimous decision over another former as well as future Featherweight champion, José Legra. Then on May 9, 1970, he regained the featherweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Johnny Famechon. This reign, however, was short-lived. Saldívar lost the crown seven months later in his first defense against Kuniaki Shibata.

### Retirement and comeback

He would fight once more before retiring again in 1971, however, the lure of the ring was too strong. He returned at the age of 30 after 2 years and 3 months of inactivity for another title attempt on October 21, 1973. His opponent was fellow Hall of Famer and former bantamweight champion Éder Jofre. Jofre, who was 37, had won the Featherweight crown after coming out of his own retirement (albeit a brief 7 month one). Saldívar's skills had greatly diminished and Jofre won the contest with a fourth-round knockout in Brazil. After the fight, Saldívar retired for good.

## Professional boxing record

| 40 fights | 37 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 26 | 3 |
| By decision | 10 | 0 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 40 | Loss | 37–3 | Éder Jofre | KO | 4 (15) | Oct 21, 1973 | Ginásio de Esportes, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil | For WBC featherweight title |
| 39 | Win | 37–2 | Frankie Crawford | UD | 10 | Jul 15, 1971 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 38 | Loss | 36–2 | Kuniaki Shibata | RTD | 12 (15) | Dec 11, 1970 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico | Lost WBC and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 37 | Win | 36–1 | Johnny Famechon | UD | 15 | May 9, 1970 | PalaEur, Rome, Lazio, Italy | Won WBC and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 36 | Win | 35–1 | José Legrá | UD | 10 | Jul 18, 1969 | The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 35 | Win | 34–1 | Howard Winstone | TKO | 12 (15) | Oct 14, 1967 | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 34 | Win | 33–1 | Howard Winstone | PTS | 15 | Jun 15, 1967 | Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales, U.K. | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 33 | Win | 32–1 | Mitsunori Seki | TKO | 7 (15) | Jan 29, 1967 | Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 32 | Win | 31–1 | Mitsunori Seki | UD | 15 | Aug 7, 1966 | Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | Floyd Robertson | KO | 2 (15) | Feb 12, 1966 | Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Howard Winstone | PTS | 15 | Sep 7, 1965 | Earls Court Arena, London, England, U.K. | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Raul Rojas | TKO | 15 (15) | May 7, 1965 | Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Delfino Rosales | TKO | 11 (12) | Dec 6, 1964 | Plaza de Toros La Luz, León, Guanajuato, Mexico | Retained Mexican featherweight title |
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Sugar Ramos | RTD | 12 (15) | Sep 26, 1964 | Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico | Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Ismael Laguna | UD | 10 | Jun 1, 1964 | Plaza de Toros, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico | |
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Eduardo Guerrero | UD | 12 | Apr 4, 1964 | Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained Mexican featherweight title |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Juan Ramírez | TKO | 2 (12) | Feb 8, 1964 | Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico | Won Mexican featherweight title |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Félix Gutiérrez | TKO | 3 (10) | Dec 16, 1963 | Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico | |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Beresford Francis | TKO | 2 (10) | Sep 21, 1963 | Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Eloy Sánchez | KO | 1 (10) | Jul 13, 1963 | Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Baby Luis | TKO | 8 (10) | Jun 15, 1963 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Dwight Hawkins | KO | 5 (10) | Apr 19, 1963 | Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico | |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Luis Hernández | KO | 2 (10) | Mar 16, 1963 | Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico | |
| 17 | Loss | 16–1 | Baby Luis | TKO | 7 (10) | Dec 29, 1962 | Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Jorge Salazar | KO | 5 (10) | Dec 16, 1962 | Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | José López | PTS | 10 | Nov 17, 1962 | Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Luis Hernández | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 11, 1962 | Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Alberto Soto | TKO | 2 (10) | Aug 22, 1962 | Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Indio Fernández | TKO | 6 (10) | Jun 27, 1962 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Genaro González | DQ | 8 (10) | May 2, 1962 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Jorge Salazar | KO | 4 (10) | Apr 4, 1962 | Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Juan Zavala | KO | 10 (10) | Mar 18, 1962 | Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Rosendo Martínez | TKO | 5 (10) | Feb 8, 1962 | Huauchinango, Puebla, Mexico | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ernesto Beltrán | KO | 6 (10) | Jan 6, 1962 | Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Juan Rodríguez | TKO | 6 (10) | Dec 3, 1961 | León, Guanajuato, Mexico | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | José Luis Mora | PTS | 10 | Oct 14, 1961 | Huauchinango, Puebla, Mexico | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Babe López | KO | 3 (8) | May 20, 1961 | León, Guanajuato, Mexico | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Eduardo Meza | KO | 3 (8) | Apr 16, 1961 | Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Frijol González | KO | 4 (6) | Mar 22, 1961 | Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Baby Palacios | KO | 1 (6) | Feb 18, 1961 | Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico | |

## Titles in boxing
### Major world titles

* WBA featherweight champion (126 lbs)
* WBC featherweight champion (126 lbs) (2×)

### The Ring magazine titles

* The Ring featherweight champion (126 lbs) (2×)

### Regional/International titles

* Mexican featherweight champion (126 lbs)

### Undisputed titles

* Undisputed featherweight champion

## Death

He died of cancer on July 18, 1985, aged only 42. In 1999 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.