 albert "alberto" dÃ¡vila (born august 10, 1954) is a mexican-american boxer who boxed during the 1970s and 1980s in the bantamweight division. during parts of 1983 and 1984, he held the world boxing council (wbc) championship. dÃ¡vila lost world bantamweight championships matches three times, and temporarily left the sport. after his return, he was given a fourth title fight, versus kiko bejines, in 1983. trailing after 11 rounds, dÃ¡vila scored a knockout of bejines to win the title, but bejines died shortly afterward due to injuries suffered during the fight. following one successful title defense, dÃ¡vila suffered back injuries, leading the wbc to strip him of his title. he later fought in two more world championship fights, losing both. dÃ¡vila is a member of the world boxing hall of fame. ==boxing career== ===early life and career=== originally from texas, and later pomona, california, dÃ¡vila took up boxing at the age of 12, and worked out daily at a boxing gym for six years. he graduated from pomona garey high school. in his professional debut, on march 1, 1973, dÃ¡vila defeated carlos villareal in a four-round bout decided on points. after 13 consecutive victories, he lost for the first time against cecil escobido in july 1974 by a split decision. dÃ¡vila boxed with many of the best boxers of the bantamweight division during the following years. he beat lupe pintor by a 10-round decision in 1976, and lost to wilfredo gÃ³mez by a knockout in puerto rico, the first fight in which he was knocked out.{{cite news|last=murray|first=
1954_births American_boxers_of_Mexican_descent Boxers_from_California Living_people Sportspeople_from_Pomona,_California World_Boxing_Council_champions World_bantamweight_boxing_champions World_boxing_champions