José Cuevas (boxer)

Pipino Cuevas
Statistics
Real name José Isidro Cuevas González
Nickname(s) Pipino
Rated at Welterweight
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Nationality Mexico Mexican
Born (1957-12-27) December 27, 1957
Santo Tomás de los Plátanos, Mexico
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 50
Wins 35
Wins by KO 31
Losses 15
Draws 0
No contests 0

José Isidro "Pipino" Cuevas González (born December 27, 1957 in Santo Tomás de los Plátanos, Mexico) is a Mexican former world champion boxer at the welterweight division.

Cuevas was inducted into both the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Cuevas turned professional at age 14; he won only seven of his first twelve bouts but eventually put together an eight bout winning streak before losing to Andy Price. On July 17, 1976, he received a shot at the WBA welterweight title against champion Ángel Espada. Cuevas pulled off an upset victory by knocking Espada to the canvas three times in the second round. Cuevas then defended his title against Shoji Tsujimoto.

One of the greatest wins of his career was against Argentinian Miguel Angel Campanino, who boasted an impressive record (84-4-4), including a thirty-two fight winning streak. Once again, Pipino disposed of his challenger before the end of the second round.

On June 8, 1977, he faced veteran Clyde Gray who had only been stopped twice in his entire career which included fifty-eight wins. Yet again, Cuevas pulled off another second round knock out. A few months later, Cuevas returned to the ring for a rematch against Espada. This time Cuevas defeated Espada in the eleventh round after he sustained a broken jaw. On March 4, 1978, he disposed of Harold Weston in the ninth round after Weston also sustained a broken jaw like Cuevas' previous challenger. Cuevas then defeated former champion Billy Backus in one round. On September 9, 1978, he defeated hometown favorite Pete Ranzany (40-2-1) in Sacramento, California via a second-round knockout. He defeated Scott Clark (28-1-0) in another second-round knockout. Cuevas next title defense went the distance in a unanimous decision win against the durable Randy Shields(33-5-1). On December 8, 1979, he faced Espada for a third time, stopping him in the tenth round. Cuevas then defeated South African national champion Harold Volbrecht by fifth-round knockout.

Loss of Title

Cuevas finally lost his title in 1980 to the undefeated and up-and-coming hometown hero Thomas Hearns in Detroit. The much taller and lankier Hearns was able to use his reach to his advantage as he kept Cuevas at a distance and knocked him out in the second round. Cuevas' talent began to decline after that loss; the most notable opponent he faced was Roberto Durán, who stopped him in the fourth round in the spring of 1983. He also lost to former world title challenger Jun Sok-Hwang and future or former world champions Jorge Vaca and Lupe Aquino before finally retiring in 1989.

Pipino Cuevas finished with a career record of 35 wins, 15 losses, 0 draws, with 31 knockouts. He fought during a period when an unusual number of accomplished welterweights were active: Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benítez, Carlos Palomino, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Durán, although his reign had nearly come to an end as Leonard, Benítez, Hearns, and Duran emerged as welterweight champions. Cuevas successfully defended his welterweight title eleven times over a four-year span. During his reign as champion, Cuevas fought the best opposition available to him. In total, the opponents he faced throughout his career had a combined record of 505-70-29.[1][2] In 2003, The Ring listed Cuevas as number thirty-one on their list of the 100 greatest punchers of all-time. In 2002, Cuevas became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Retirement

Cuevas is the owner of a restaurant and a security company in Mexico City. At one point of his career, he was also the owner of a famous sports and luxury car collection, and he was one of the first boxers to sport a golden tooth. Most people probably know him for his nickname Pipino, which is far more used to refer to him than Jose by fight commentators and magazine writers.

He ran into trouble with the law in 2001 when he was accused of racketeering in Mexico, in connection with a Mexican mayor. But he was declared innocent in 2002.

His record as a boxer was of 35 wins and 15 losses, with 31 wins by knockout.

Professional boxing record

35 Wins (31 knockouts, 4 decisions), 15 Losses (6 knockouts, 9 decisions)
Res. Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 35–15 Mexico Lupe Aquino KO 2 (10) 1989-09-25 Mexico Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 35–14 Mexico Martín Martínez KO 1 (10) 1989-07-31 Mexico Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 34–14 Mexico Francisco Carballo KO 4 (10) 1989-05-29 Mexico Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 33–14 Mexico Daniel Valenzuela KO 6 (10) 1987-07-25 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 32–14 Mexico Jorge Vaca KO 2 (10) 1986-12-19 Mexico Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Loss 32–13 Argentina Lorenzo Luis García MD 10 1986-10-04 Argentina Salta, Salta, Argentina
Win 32–12 United States Luis Mateo TKO 3 (10) 1986-07-25 United States UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Loss 31–12 United States Steve Little MD 10 1986-03-03 United States Sacramento, California, United States
Win 31–11 Mexico Felipe Vaca UD 4 1986-02-25 United States Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
Loss 30–11 United States Herman Montes KO 3 (10) 1985-03-07 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 30–10 South Korea Jun-Suk Hwang MD 10 1984-07-12 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 30–9 Venezuela Mauricio Bravo TKO 1 (10) 1984-03-01 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 29–9 Panama Roberto Duran TKO 4 (12) 1983-01-29 United States Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 29–8 United States Roger Stafford UD 10 1981-11-07 United States Hacienda Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 1981 Upset of the Year - The Ring Magazine
Win 29–7 Denmark Jørgen Hansen TKO 1 (10) 1981-06-25 United States Astrodome, Houston, Texas, United States
Win 28–7 Colombia Bernardo Prada KO 2 (10) 1981-02-07 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 27–7 United States Thomas Hearns TKO 2 (15) 1980-08-02 United States Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States Lost WBA World Welterweight title
Win 27–6 South Africa Harold Volbrecht KO 5 (15) 1980-04-06 United States Astro Arena, Houston, Texas, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 26–6 Puerto Rico Ángel Espada TKO 10 (15) 1979-12-08 United States Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 25–6 United States Randy Shields UD 15 1979-07-30 United States International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 24–6 United States Scott Clark TKO 2 (15) 1979-01-29 United States Forum, Inglewood, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 23–6 United States Pete Ranzany TKO 2 (15) 1978-09-09 United States Hughes Arena, Sacramento, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 22–6 United States Billy Backus TKO 2 (15) 1978-05-20 United States Forum, Inglewood, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 21–6 United States Harold Weston TKO 9 (15) 1978-03-04 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 20–6 Puerto Rico Ángel Espada TKO 12 (15) 1977-11-19 Puerto Rico Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 19–6 Canada Clyde Gray KO 2 (15) 1977-08-06 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 18–6 Argentina Miguel Ángel Campanino KO 2 (15) 1977-03-12 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 17–6 Japan Shoji Tsujimoto KO 6 (15) 1976-10-27 Japan Jissen Rinri Hall, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan Retained WBA World Welterweight title
Win 16–6 Puerto Rico Ángel Espada TKO 2 (15) 1976-07-17 Mexico Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico Won WBA World Welterweight title
Loss 15–6 United States Andy Price UD 10 1976-06-02 United States Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 15–5 Colombia Rafael Piamonte KO 1 (10) 1976-04-03 Mexico Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
Win 14–5 Mexico José Palacios KO 10 (12) 1975-09-27 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Won Mexico Welterweight title
Win 13–5 Colombia Carlos Obregón UD 10 1975-07-12 Mexico Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 12–5 Mexico Rubén Vázquez Zamora UD 10 1975-01-25 Mexico Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 11–5 Mexico Sammy García KO 3 (10) 1974-10-26 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 10–5 Mexico José Luis Pena KO 1 (10) 1974-08-21 Mexico Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 9–5 Belize Sugar Sanders TKO 1 (10) 1974-06-12 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 8–5 Mexico Salvador Ruvalcaba KO 1 (10) 1974-05-11 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 7–5 Mexico Eleazar Delgado MD 10 1973-11-24 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 7–4 Mexico Octavio Amparan TKO 7 (10) 1973-10-06 Mexico Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 6–4 Mexico José Figueroa TKO 3 (10) 1973-08-04 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 5–4 Mexico Memo Cruz UD 10 1973-05-13 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 5–3 Mexico Sergio Alejo KO 4 (8) 1973-03-01 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 4–3 Mexico Raúl Martínez KO 1 (8) 1972-12-07 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 3–3 Mexico Juan Pablo Oropeza MD 8 1972-08-19 Mexico Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
Win 3–2 Mexico Pancho Benítez TKO 2 (8) 1972-06-22 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 2–2 Mexico Rielero Rodríguez TKO 2 (6) 1972-05-24 Mexico Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
Loss 1–2 Mexico Mario Roman MD 6 1972-03-04 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Win 1–1 Dominican Republic José Arias TKO 4 (6) 1972-01-01 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Loss 0–1 Mexico Alfredo Castro KO 2 (4) 1971-11-14 Mexico Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Cuevas's professional debut.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ángel Espada
WBA Welterweight Champion
July 17, 1976 - June 20, 1980
Succeeded by
Thomas Hearns

References

  1. Remembering the Career of Pipino Cuevas
  2. HBO: Boxing: Features: Best Of: THE BEST WELTERWEIGHT PUNCHERS EVER
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