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José Torres (boxer)

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox boxer José Louis "Chegüi" Torres (May 3, 1936 – January 19, 2009) was a Puerto Rican-born professional boxer who fought representing the United States.<ref name="Olympics" /> As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the middleweight division at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.<ref name="Olympics" /> In 1965, he defeated Willie Pastrano to win the WBC, WBA, and lineal light-heavyweight championships. Torres trained with the legendary boxing trainer Cus D'Amato. In 1997, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Amateur career

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Born in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Torres began boxing when he joined the United States Army as a teenager (he was 17 years old).<ref>Associated PressTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> His only amateur titles had come in Army and Inter-Service championships, several of which he had won. Torres was still in the Army when he won the silver medal in the light-middleweight division at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, losing to László Papp of Hungary in the final.<ref name="Olympics">Template:Cite web</ref>

Torres trained at the Empire Sporting Club in New York City with trainer Cus D'Amato.<ref name="NYT-1993">Template:Cite news</ref>

He was the 1958 National AAU Middleweight Champion and also won the 1958 New York Golden Gloves 160 lb Open Championship.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Professional career

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He professionally debuted in 1958 with a first-round knockout of George Hamilton in New York. Twelve wins in a row followed, ten of them by knockout (including wins over contenders Ike Jenkins and Al Andrews). Afterward, he made his San Juan debut against Benny Paret, a future world welterweight champion from Cuba, in which Torres and Paret fought to a ten-round draw. In 1960, Torres went back to campaigning in New York, where he scored three wins that year, all by decision, including two over Randy Sandy.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1961, Torres made his hometown debut with a four-round knockout win in a rematch with Hamilton at Ponce. He had six more fights that year, winning all of them by knockout.Template:Citation needed

Torres kept his knockout streak alive through 1962 with three more knockout wins but, in 1963, he suffered his first loss, being stopped in five by Cuba's Florentino Fernández, the only boxer ever to beat Torres by a knockout as a professional. After that setback, Torres went back to training and had one more fight that year. That time around, he was able to beat another top contender in Don Fullmer, Gene Fullmer's brother, with a ten-round decision win in New Jersey.Template:Citation needed

In 1964, Torres beat a group of name boxers, including Jose Gonzalez, Walker Simmons (twice), Frankie Olivera, Gomeo Brennan, and former world Middleweight champion Carl ("Bobo") Olson, who was taken out in one round. After this, Torres was ranked number one among Light-Heavyweight challengers.Template:Citation needed

His title shot arrived in 1965 at Madison Square Garden. Torres defeated the International Boxing Hall Of Fame member and World Light Heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano. In doing so, Torres became the third Puerto Rican world boxing champion in history and the first Latin American to win the world Light Heavyweight title, knocking Pastrano out in round nine. Later that year, he fought a non-title bout versus Tom McNeeley (father of former Mike Tyson rival, Peter McNeeley) in San Juan, winning a ten-round decision.<ref name=":1" />

In 1966, he successfully defended his crown three times, with 15-round decisions over Wayne Thornton and Eddie Cotton and a two-round knockout of Chic Calderwood. In his next defense, however, he would lose it to another Hall Of Fame member, Nigeria's Dick Tiger, by a decision in 15 rounds.<ref name=":1" />

In 1967, he and Tiger had a rematch, with Torres losing a 15-round decision again. Many fans thought he should have won it that time, and as a consequence, a large riot followed the fight.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

After his second defeat to Tiger, Torres only fought twice more (against Bob Dunlop in 1968 and Charley "Devil" Green in 1969), retiring after 1969.<ref name=":1" />

An active retirement

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In his years after retiring from boxing, he became a representative of the Puerto Rican community in New York, meeting political leaders, giving lectures, and becoming the New York State Athletic Commission's Commissioner from 1984 to 1988. In 1986, he was chosen to sing the United States National Anthem before the World Lightweight championship bout between Jimmy Paul and Irleis Perez in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1990, he became President of the WBO until 1995. He was also a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Author

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Torres regularly contributed a column to the New York Post (which he obtained with the help of his friend, Pete Hamill), as well as to El Diario La Prensa, a Spanish language newspaper in New York City. He also wrote for The Village Voice. In 1971, he co-authored Sting Like a Bee, a biography of Muhammad Ali.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1989, he wrote the Mike Tyson biography Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson (which would be adapted into the 1995-HBO television movie, Tyson).<ref name="washingtonpost1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Later years

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In 2007, Torres announced his decision to move back to his hometown of Ponce, Puerto Rico and concentrate on writing books and articles related to sports and history. On August 6, 2008, Torres received a recognition for his military career.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death and legacy

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Torres died in the morning of January 19, 2009, of a heart attack at his home in Ponce.<ref name="washingtonpost1"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are plans to move his remains to the Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro, a national pantheon (and cemetery) and museum, in Ponce, Puerto Rico.<ref>Juan Alindato y Chegüi Torres al Panteon Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro, nuestro cementerio museo. Periodico "La Voz de la Playa de Ponce", Edicion 131, October 2010. Page 2.</ref> He is also recognized at Ponce's Parque de los Ponceños Ilustres in the area of sports.<ref>Sports. TravelPonce.com Retrieved April 18, 2013.</ref> During his life, Torres was the subject of two documentaries by famed Japanese film director, Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Professional boxing record

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Template:BoxingRecordSummary

Template:Abbr Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
45 Template:Yes2Win 41–3–1 Charley Green KO 2 (10), Template:Small 14 Jul 1969 Template:Small
44 Template:Yes2Win 40–3–1 Bob Dunlop TKO 6 (10) 1 Apr 1968 Template:Small
43 Template:No2Loss 39–3–1 Dick Tiger SD 15 16 May 1967 Template:Small Template:Small
42 Template:No2Loss 39–2–1 Dick Tiger UD 15 16 Dec 1966 Template:Small Template:Small
41 Template:Yes2Win 39–1–1 Chic Calderwood KO 2 (15), Template:Small 15 Oct 1966 Template:Small Template:Small
40 Template:Yes2Win 38–1–1 Eddie Cotton UD 15 15 Aug 1966 Template:Small Template:Small
39 Template:Yes2Win 37–1–1 Wayne Thornton UD 15 21 May 1966 Template:Small Template:Small
38 Template:Yes2Win 36–1–1 Tom McNeeley UD 10 31 Jul 1965 Template:Small
37 Template:Yes2Win 35–1–1 Willie Pastrano TKO 9 (15), Template:Small 30 Mar 1965 Template:Small Template:Small
36 Template:Yes2Win 34–1–1 Carl Olson KO 1 (10), Template:Small 27 Nov 1964 Template:Small
35 Template:Yes2Win 33–1–1 Gomeo Brennan MD 10 4 Sep 1964 Template:Small
34 Template:Yes2Win 32–1–1 Walker Simmons KO 6 (10) 20 Jul 1964 Template:Small
33 Template:Yes2Win 31–1–1 Frankie Olivera TKO 5 (10) 22 Jun 1964 Template:Small
32 Template:Yes2Win 30–1–1 Wilbert McClure UD 10 15 May 1964 Template:Small
31 Template:Yes2Win 29–1–1 Walker Simmons TKO 8 (10), Template:Small 21 Apr 1964 Template:Small
30 Template:Yes2Win 28–1–1 José Gonzalez UD 10 3 Jan 1964 Template:Small
29 Template:Yes2Win 27–1–1 Don Fullmer PTS 10 9 Oct 1963 Template:Small
28 Template:No2Loss 26–1–1 Florentino Fernández TKO 5 (10), Template:Small 25 May 1963 Template:Small
27 Template:Yes2Win 26–0–1 Al Hauser TKO 3 (10) 14 Dec 1962 Template:Small
26 Template:Yes2Win 25–0–1 Obdulio Nuñez KO 7 (12) 27 Jul 1962 Template:Small Template:Small
25 Template:Yes2Win 24–0–1 Jimmy Watkins RTD 7 (10) 10 Apr 1962 Template:Small
24 Template:Yes2Win 23–0–1 Tony Montano KO 4 (10) 28 Nov 1961 Template:Small
23 Template:Yes2Win 22–0–1 George Price KO 2 (10), Template:Small 31 Oct 1961 Template:Small
22 Template:Yes2Win 21–0–1 Ike White KO 3 (10), Template:Small 27 Jun 1961 Template:Small
21 Template:Yes2Win 20–0–1 Mel Collins KO 7 (10), Template:Small 5 Jun 1961 Template:Small
20 Template:Yes2Win 19–0–1 Bob Young TKO 5 (10) 23 May 1961 Template:Small
19 Template:Yes2Win 18–0–1 Bobby Barnes KO 3 (10) 1 Apr 1961 Template:Small
18 Template:Yes2Win 17–0–1 Gene Hamilton TKO 4 (10), Template:Small 17 Feb 1961 Template:Small
17 Template:Yes2Win 16–0–1 Randy Sandy UD 10 11 Jun 1960 Template:Small
16 Template:Yes2Win 15–0–1 Tony Dupas MD 10 15 Mar 1960 Template:Small
15 Template:Yes2Win 14–0–1 Randy Sandy PTS 10 30 Jan 1960 Template:Small
14 Template:DrawDraw 13–0–1 Benny Paret PTS 10 26 Sep 1959 Template:Small
13 Template:Yes2Win 13–0 Al Andrews TKO 6 (8), Template:Small 26 Jun 1959 Template:Small
12 Template:Yes2Win 12–0 Joe Shaw Template:Small 5 (10), Template:Small 23 Apr 1959 Template:Small
11 Template:Yes2Win 11–0 Leroy Oliphant TKO 3 (10) 19 Mar 1959 Template:Small
10 Template:Yes2Win 10–0 Eddie Wright TKO 5 (8), Template:Small 26 Feb 1959 Template:Small
9 Template:Yes2Win 9–0 Isaac Jenkins TKO 5 (10) 4 Dec 1958 Template:Small
8 Template:Yes2Win 8–0 Burke Emery TKO 5 (10), Template:Small 3 Nov 1958 Template:Small
7 Template:Yes2Win 7–0 Frankie Anselm KO 9 (10), Template:Small 13 Oct 1958 Template:Small
6 Template:Yes2Win 6–0 Otis Woodward TKO 5 (10) 29 Sep 1958 Template:Small
5 Template:Yes2Win 5–0 Benny Doyle KO 1 (6) 18 Aug 1958 Template:Small
4 Template:Yes2Win 4–0 Wes Lowry PTS 6 5 Jul 1958 Template:Small
3 Template:Yes2Win 3–0 Joe Salvato KO 4 (6), Template:Small 21 Jun 1958 Template:Small
2 Template:Yes2Win 2–0 Walter Irby PTS 6 7 Jun 1958 Template:Small
1 Template:Yes2Win 1–0 Gene Hamilton KO 1 (4) 24 May 1958 Template:Small

Titles in boxing

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Major world titles

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The Ring magazine titles

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Regional/International titles

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Undisputed titles

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See also

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References

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