Ernesto España (born November 7, 1954) is a Venezuelan former professional boxer who held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship in 1979 and 1980.
Career
España became a professional boxer in 1975 and initially won all of his bouts except one, including one in 1981, when he beat future champion Arturo Frias. España fought Claude Noel on June 16, 1979, for the vacant WBA lightweight title that had been given up by Roberto Durán. España knocked out Noel in the thirteenth round to win the title. He defended it once, recuperating from a knockdown in round seven before knocking out Johnny Lira in round nine of a fight which has been showcased on ESPN Classic, before losing the title to Hilmer Kenty by knockout in round nine in March 1980. In a rematch in September, Kenty knocked España out again, this time in the fourth round.
For a period during this era, España was a resident of Puerto Rico.
When Frias won the WBA lightweight title, España challenged him but Frias avenged his only loss and won a technical decision over España in 1982.
España's next fight was another challenge for the WBA lightweight title, but this time Ray Mancini knocked him out in six rounds in July 1982. España never challenged for a world title again and retired in 1988.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, TimeDateLocationNotes44Loss36–8Michael BenjaminUD12Aug 29, 198843Loss36–7Lester EllisUD10Mar 13, 198742Win36–6Junel RodriguezPTS12Jun 1, 198541Loss35–6Rafael WilliamsMD10Jan 19, 198540Loss35–5Ray ManciniTKO6 (15), Jul 24, 198239Loss35–4Arturo FriasTD9 (15), Jan 30, 198238Win35–3Eduardo IriartePTS10Nov 17, 198137Win34–3Jose RosasTKO5 (10)Oct 26, 198136Win33–3Alvin FowlerTKO3 (10)Aug 24, 198135Win32–3Jong Kil ChungTKO6 (10)Jul 20, 198134Win31–3Arturo FriasMD10May 30, 198133Win30–3Jose OrtizKO2 (10)May 9, 198132Win29–3Ki Hoon KwakKO5 (10)Apr 13, 198131Win28–3Eduardo IriartePTS10Feb 21, 198130Loss27–3Hilmer KentyTKO4 (15), Sep 20, 198029Loss27–2Hilmer KentyTKO9 (15), Mar 2, 198028Win27–1Johnny LiraRTD9 (15), Aug 4, 197927Win26–1Claude NoelKO13 (15)Jun 16, 197926Win25–1Eddie BracettyTKO1 (10)Mar 25, 197925Win24–1Fernando JimenezTKO6 (10)Feb 19, 197924Win23–1Johnny BarrKO1 (10)Oct 28, 197823Win22–1Bienvenido QuintoTKO1 (10)Sep 9, 197822Win21–1Tony AriasKO1 (10)Aug 12, 197821Win20–1Teodoro OsunaKO1 (10)Jul 8, 197820Win19–1Gerardo AcevesKO2 (10)Apr 22, 197819Win18–1Angel RosasTKO3 (10)Aug 27, 197718Win17–1Salvador TorresKO1 (10)Jul 3, 197717Win16–1Milton MendezKO1 (10)May 15, 197716Win15–1Isaac MarinTKO5 (10)Jan 30, 197715Win14–1Ricardo ArredondoPTS10Nov 14, 197614Win13–1Andres FernandezKO1 (10)Oct 16, 197613Win12–1Rolando MartinezKO1 (10)Aug 29, 197612Win11–1Clemente MucinoKO1 (10)Aug 22, 197611Win10–1Julio PenaTKO1 (10)Jul 11, 197610Win9–1Juan SarmientoTKO3 (10)Jun 13, 19769Win8–1Luis Beltran RodriguezPTS10Mar 6, 19768Win7–1Danton MorilloKO2 (6)Feb 28, 19767Win6–1Cesar ChavezKO2 (6)Feb 18, 19766Win5–1Ruben AriasKO1 (6)Nov 17, 19755Win4–1Luis RomeroTKO2 (6)Oct 4, 19754Loss3–1Luis Beltran RodriguezPTS6Aug 25, 19753Win3–0Freddy BricenoTKO3 (6)Aug 8, 19752Win2–0Jose FiguereroPTS4Jul 14, 19751Win1–0Hernan RodriguezTKO1 (4)Mar 17, 1975
Personal life His brother Crisanto España won the WBA world welterweight title in the early 1990s, when he beat Meldrick Taylor and lost it in his third defense to Ike Quartey.
See also Notable boxing families List of world lightweight boxing champions
References
External links