Loreto Garza

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Loreto Garza
Image of Loreto Garza, the former world champion of light welterweight
Born (1962-05-23) May 23, 1962 (age 61)
NationalityAmerican
Statistics
Weight(s)Light welterweight
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Reach72 in (183 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights34
Wins31
Wins by KO26
Losses2
Draws1

Loreto Garza (born May 23, 1962 in Sacramento, California) is an American former professional boxer and world champion at light welterweight.

Career[edit]

Amateur[edit]

Garza started boxing amateur at 18 years old and did it for three years. He won the Golden Gloves all three years, along with other big tournaments and was also on the U.S. boxing team.

Professional[edit]

Garza turned pro in 1982 at the age of 21. Working his way up the ranks, he got his opportunity. In 1988, Garza won the WBC Americas light welterweight championship with a spectacular first-round knockout of former world champion Harry Arroyo. Arroyo was knocked down three times in the fight. Later on that year, Garza knocked out former world champion Charlie Brown (other wise known as "Choo Choo" Brown) in four rounds.

In 1989, Garza, with a single right hand in the 7th round, knocked out former world champion Joe Manley. Manley was out cold. A couple of months later on August 12, 1989, Garza won a unanimous decision in a 12-round war to win the USBA championship over #1 ranked contender Frankie Warren; Garza fought the last five rounds with his left eye swelled shut. Many boxing annals argue that Garza vs. Warren should have been the fight of the year.[citation needed]

On August 17, 1990, with only two weeks notice, Garza flew to Nice, France, and won the WBA light welterweight world title by majority decision over the reigning three-time world champion Juan Coggi. Garza looked sharp with a beautiful display of counter punching. He came back to his hometown of Sacramento and defended his world title against former five-time world champion Vinny Pazienza. Garza out-smarted and out-boxed Pazienza and had his face bloody and battered. Pazienza was frustrated throughout the fight and in the 11th round, Pazienza picked up Garza and tried to slam him in the ring, so the referee disqualified Pazienza.[1] The following year, Garza lost the belt to Edwin Rosario via 3rd round TKO. Garza was down twice the first and twice in the third round.[2]

Garza had three more fights after that and won them by knockout, and was promised another world title shot, but it seemed like all the world champions would duck when it came to Garza. He retired in 1993.

As a main event fighter, Garza also headlined two pay-per-view fights.

Professional boxing record[edit]

34 fights 31 wins 2 losses
By knockout 26 2
By decision 4 0
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
34 Win 31–2–1 Gilberto Flores TKO 8 (10) 1993-03-25 Radisson Hotel, Sacramento, California, U.S.
33 Win 30–2–1 Tony Contreras KO 2 (10) 1992-09-30 Radisson Hotel, Sacramento, California, U.S.
32 Win 29–2–1 Alberto Castro KO 7 (10) 1991-11-15 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
31 Loss 28–2–1 Edwin Rosario TKO 3 (12) 1991-06-14 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S. Lost WBA super lightweight title
30 Win 28–1–1 Vinny Pazienza DQ 11 (12) 1990-12-01 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S. Retained WBA super lightweight title
29 Win 27–1–1 Juan Martin Coggi MD 12 (12) 1990-08-17 Palais des Congrès Acropolis, Nice, France Won WBA super lightweight title
28 Win 26–1–1 Rosenberg Rosas KO 5 (10) 1990-02-05 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
27 Win 25–1–1 Frankie Warren UD 12 (12) 1989-08-12 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
26 Win 24–1–1 Francisco Tomas da Cruz TKO 4 (10) 1989-05-15 Radisson Hotel, Sacramento, California, U.S.
25 Win 23–1–1 Manuel Nery KO 2 (10) 1989-03-05 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
24 Win 22–1–1 Joe Manley KO 7 (10) 1989-01-25 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
23 Win 21–1–1 Stewart Baynes TKO 9 (10) 1988-07-23 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
22 Win 20–1–1 Harry Arroyo TKO 1 (12) 1988-04-22 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S. Won WBC Continental Americas super lightweight title
21 Win 19–1–1 Charlie Brown TKO 4 (10) 1988-02-12 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
20 Win 18–1–1 Javier Juarez TKO 1 (10) 1987-09-25 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
19 Win 17–1–1 Amy Pacana KO 1 (10) 1987-09-01 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
18 Win 16–1–1 Gary Williams TKO 1 (10) 1987-07-01 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
17 Win 15–1–1 Willie Montana TKO 6 (10) 1987-05-21 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
16 Win 14–1–1 Mauricio Nava KO 1 (6) 1987-03-09 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
15 Win 13–1–1 Roberto Garcia KO 7 (8) 1986-09-27 Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S.
14 Win 12–1–1 Roberto Garcia TKO 2 (6) 1986-07-20 Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S.
13 Win 11–1–1 Erwin Brown KO 3 (8) 1986-06-05 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.
12 Win 10–1–1 Chauncey Hayes UD 8 (8) 1986-02-23 Auditorium, Richmond, California, U.S.
11 Win 9–1–1 Rene Hedman TKO 1 (6) 1985-08-15 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
10 Draw 8–1–1 Ernie Landeros PTS 6 (6) 1985-06-18 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
9 Win 8–1 Mario Lopez TKO 2 (6) 1984-07-03 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
8 Win 7–1 Jerry Lewis KO 3 (6) 1984-04-03 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
7 Win 6–1 Peter Cunningham SD 6 (6) 1984-03-06 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
6 Loss 5–1 Francisco Tomas da Cruz TKO 4 (6) 1983-11-15 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Jose Resendez KO 3 (5) 1983-10-25 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Howard Smith KO 4 (?) 1983-10-21 Vallejo, California, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Francisco Estrella KO 1 (6) 1983-06-21 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 James Sowell KO 2 (6) 1983-04-05 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Don Canada KO 2 (5) 1983-02-01 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Garza Retains His WBA Title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  2. ^ "Rosario kayos champ for title". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-02-21.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA super lightweight champion
August 17, 1990 – June 14, 1991
Succeeded by