Editing Lupe Pintor (section)

==World championships==
[[Carlos Zarate (boxer)|Carlos Zarate]] was Pintor's stable mate and a fellow Mexican. He was an outstanding champion and continues to be rated one of the very best of all Bantamweights. The records, however, show that Pintor edged a very close and controversial split decision, following a remarkable contest that saw him hit the canvas in round four. But the judges were so at variance when recording their verdict, that (like already stated) the contest remains a matter of controversy today. Naturally, the new world champion's relationship with Zarate – already strained – took another hit and Zarate retired in disgust.

Pintor was a busy champion and he began his reign by engaging in three non-title bouts, beating [[Aucencio Melendez]] by a knockout in the first and avenging his loss to Jose Luis Soto before losing a rematch with Manuel Vázquez by a knockout in six. Then he began to defend his title in earnest, retaining it with a knockout in twelve over [[Alberto Sandoval]] in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and drawing over fifteen with [[Eijiro Murata]] in Tokyo.

His next bout ended tragically. He defended against [[Johnny Owen]] of [[Wales]] in Los Angeles. Many of the fans present and the authors of ''[[The Ring (magazine)|The Ring]]'''s ''Boxing in The 20th Century'', have agreed that the fight should have been stopped during round ten. But it carried on until the close of the twelfth, when Pintor unleashed a savage right-hand, knocking his opponent out cold. Owen failed to regain consciousness, lapsed into a coma and died seven weeks later. This fight was documented in the film ''[[Faces of Death II]]''.

Saddened, Pintor – encouraged by Owen's family – resumed his career by avenging his loss to Davila, retaining the title by unanimous decision. He went on to retain the belt against [[Jose Uziga]] – again by decision – and [[Jovito Rengifo]], by a knockout in eight. He stopped [[Hurricane Teru]] in the fifteenth and final round to close 1981 and began 1982, by retaining the title against [[Lee Seung-hoon (boxer)|Seung-Hoon Lee]] with an eleventh-round knockout.

Soon after the Lee fight, Pintor vacated his world title and started eyeing the WBC Super Bantamweight crown worn by the great [[Wilfredo Gómez]]. Stepping up, he immediately beat former [[World Boxing Association|WBA]] World Bantamweight Champion [[Jorge Luján (boxer)|Jorge Luján]] and then, on 3 December of that year, he and Gómez met as part of the [[Carnival of Champions]] in [[New Orleans]]. Showcased on [[HBO]], this duel was subsequently dubbed the division's 'Fight of The Decade' by ''[[The Ring (magazine)|The Ring]]'' magazine. But it did not go Pintor's way. Gómez recorded a fourteenth-round knockout and relinquished his own title five months later.

Pintor was inactive throughout 1983. He returned to the ring a year-and-a-half later as a fully-fledged [[Super Bantamweight]] defeating [[Ruben Solorio]] on 16 February 1984 and busied himself thereafter trying to get another shot at the world title. his perseverance paid off when he was pitted against [[Juan 'Kid' Meza]], the WBC's Super Bantamweight Champion on 18 August 1985. Pintor floored the defending champion three times on the way to collecting a unanimous decision and celebrated his new status as a double world title holder.

His first defense of this new crown did not go to plan. Traveling to [[Bangkok]] to meet [[Samart Payakaroon]], Pintor exceeded the division weight limit and was subsequently stripped of his title at the scales.  Payakaroon could still become champion if he defeated Pintor but if Pintor won the title would be declared vacant. Payakaroon pounded Pintor to defeat in five rounds and the ex-champion quit fighting for the next eight years.

Pintor made a comeback of sorts in 1994, but at the comparatively advanced age of thirty-eight, he was long past his best. Winning just twice in seven contests over the next eighteen months, he was finally convinced that it was time to retire.

===Honors===
Pintor was named The [[Ring magazine]] [[Comeback of the Year]] fighter for 1985.