Rafael Herrera (born 7 January 1945) is a Mexican former professional boxer. He won the Undisputed Bantamweight Championship in 1972 and was a two-time WBC bantamweight champion.
Professional career Herrera turned pro in 1963 and in 1972 defeated Rubén Olivares by TKO to capture the Lineal, WBC and WBA bantamweight titles. He lost the titles in his first defense to Enrique Pinder. Pinder was stripped of the WBC title after this fight for failure to defend against Rodolfo Martinez. Herrera fought Martinez for the vacant WBC bantamweight title the following year and won by TKO, a fight in which Martinez down four times (twice in 4th, twice in 11th), and Herrera was down in the 8th. He defended the title twice before losing it in 1974 in a rematch with Martinez. The outcome of the bout was controversial, as Herrera was on his feet at the count of 7 after being knocked down and was asked by the referee if he could continue. Herrera nodded "yes" but a split second later the referee raised Martinez' hand and declared him the winner. Herrera lurched forward but the referee contained him. The ensuing conversation between Herrera and the referee was heard on the national TV broadcast.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes60Win47–9–4 Alfredo Meneses59Draw46–9–4 Jose Cervantes58Loss46–9–3 Jose Luis Soto57Loss46–8–3 Octavio Gomez56Loss46–7–3 Rodolfo Martínez55Win46–6–3 Romeo Anaya54Win45–6–3 Venice Borkhorsor53Win44–6–3 Rodolfo Martínez52Win43–6–3 Rubén Olivares51Loss42–6–3 Enrique Pinder50Win42–5–3 Rubén Olivares49Win41–5–3 Chucho Castillo48Win40–5–3 Modesto Boy Dayaganon47Win39–5–3 Cesar Deciga46Win38–5–3 Rodolfo Martinez45Win37–5–3 Octavio Gomez44Win36–5–3 Jose Lopez43Win35–5–3 Cesar Chuy Chavez42Win34–5–3 Yoshiki Suda41Win33–5–3 Lenny Brice40Loss32–5–3 Raul Cruz39Draw32–4–3 Billy McGrandle38Win32–4–2 Ricardo Solis37Win31–4–2 Ken Nagamine36Loss30–4–2 Chucho Castillo35Win30–3–2 Jerry Stokes34Win29–3–2 Lenny Brice33Win28–3–2 Guillermo Tellez32Win27–3–2 Ronnie Jones31Win26–3–2 Santos Sandoval30Win25–3–2 Raul Vega29Win24–3–2 Alex Rivera28Win23–3–2 Ricardo Solis27Draw22–3–2 Lupe Gonzalez26Win22–3–1 Elias Vargas25Win21–3–1 Elias Vargas24Win20–3–1 Alex Rivera23Win19–3–1 Antonio Perez22Win18–3–1 Jose Hernandez21Win17–3–1 Manuel Magallanes20Draw16–3–1 Gerardo Luna19Win16–3 Alfredo Meneses18Win15–3 Cornelio Vega17Win14–3 Gerardo Luna16Win13–3 Coruco Contreras15Win12–3 Coruco Contreras14Win11–3 Alfredo Meneses13Loss10–3 Gerardo Luna12Win10–2 Rogelio Rea11Win9–2 Cid Cardenas10Win8–2 Andres Molina9Win7–2 Alfonso Izquierdo8Win6–2 Miguel Zamudio7Win5–2 Jose Luis Madrid6Loss4–2 Jose Luis Madrid5Loss4–1 Alfonso Jose Cazares4Win4–0 David Monroy3Win3–0 Wenceslao Angeles2Win2–0 Raul Martinez1Win1–0 Memo Gonzalez
Titles in boxing Major world titles WBA bantamweight champion (118 lbs) WBC bantamweight champion (118 lbs) (2×)
The Ring magazine titles The Ring bantamweight champion (118 lbs)
Regional/International titles NABF bantamweight champion (118 lbs)
Undisputed titles Undisputed bantamweight champion
Personal life Born into a large working-class family, Herrera originally wanted to be a priest. In 1971 he married Leticia, his longtime wife with whom he had two daughters.
See also List of Mexican boxing world champions List of world bantamweight boxing champions
References
External links
Rafael Herrera - CBZ Profile