Antonio Esparragoza Betancourt (born 2 September 1959) is a Venezuelan former boxer who is a former WBA Featherweight Champion of the World.
Amateur career Esparragoza represented Venezuela as a Featherweight at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Below are the results from that tournament:
Round of 64: bye Round of 32: lost to Peter Hanlon (Great Britain) by decision, 1-4
Professional career Esparragoza turned pro in 1981 and after largely fighting unproven fighters in his native Venezuela was granted a shot at Lineal & WBA Featherweight Titles holder Steve Cruz in 1987. Esparragoza pulled off an upset with a TKO in the 12th round. Esparragoza defended the titles against seven contenders before losing the belts to Yong-Kyun Park in 1991 via unanimous decision. He retired after the loss.
Due to his incredible knockout power, Esparragoza is ranked at 75 in Ring Magazine's list of 100 Greatest Punchers.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes36Loss30–2–4 Park Yong-kyunUD12Mar 30, 199135Win30–1–4 Chan Mok ParkUD12May 12, 199034Win29–1–4 Eduardo MontoyaKO5 (12), Sep 22, 198933Win28–1–4 Jean Marc RenardKO6 (12), Jun 2, 198932Win27–1–4 Mitsuru SugiyaKO10 (12), Mar 26, 198931Win26–1–4 Jose MarmolejoKO8 (12), Nov 5, 198830Draw25–1–4 Marcos Villasana12Jun 23, 198829Win25–1–3 Pascual ArandaKO10 (12), Jul 26, 198728Win24–1–3 Steve CruzTKO12 (12), Mar 6, 198727Win23–1–3 Octavio QuinonesRTD3 (10), Jan 16, 198726Draw22–1–3 Nelson RodriguezPTS10May 19, 198625Win22–1–2 Bernardo ChecaKO2 (10)Mar 22, 198624Win21–1–2 Jose M. OrtizKO2 (?)Feb 17, 198623Win20–1–2 Johnny De La RosaTKO3 (10)May 4, 198522Win19–1–2 Joe RiveraKO2 (?)Feb 23, 198521Win18–1–2 Jeff RobertsKO7 (?)Feb 2, 198520Draw17–1–2 Bernardo ChecaPTS10Oct 10, 198419Win17–1–1 Jose GuerreroUD10Aug 11, 198418Win16–1–1 Eduardo LagunaKO4 (?)Jul 7, 198417Win15–1–1 Jose de Jesus AcostaTKO3 (?)May 15, 198416Win14–1–1 Ruben VelizKO3 (?)Dec 16, 198315Win13–1–1 Fabio MosqueraKO3 (?)Oct 1, 198314Win12–1–1 Alberto ParraKO3 (?)May 13, 198313Win11–1–1 Jose MosquedaKO7 (?)Mar 26, 198312Win10–1–1 Antonio RodriguezKO3 (?)Feb 19, 198311Win9–1–1 Freddy PitaluaPTS10Nov 6, 198210Draw8–1–1 Bernardo PiñangoPTS10Oct 4, 19829Win8–1 Angel TorresKO9 (?)Jul 26, 19828Win7–1 Tito RoqueKO2 (?)Jun 21, 19827Win6–1 Alejandro GarciaKO2 (?)May 24, 19826Win5–1 Francisco LetaKO5 (?)May 10, 19825Loss4–1 Angel TorresKO6 (?)Feb 1, 19824Win4–0 David SisoKO3 (?)Jan 25, 19823Win3–0 Luis SolorzanoKO2 (?)Oct 31, 19812Win2–0 Ramon BolivarKO2 (?)Oct 1, 19811Win1–0 Anthony WanzaKO2 (?)Feb 24, 1981
See also Lineal championship List of featherweight boxing champions
References
sports-reference