Rafael Herrera (born 7 January 1945) is a Mexican former professional boxer. He has won the Lineal championship in the bantamweight division.

Rafael Herrera
Born
Rafael Herrera Lemus

(1945-01-07) January 7, 1945 (age 79)
Statistics
Weight(s)Bantamweight
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Reach65 in (165 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights60
Wins47
Wins by KO20
Losses9
Draws4

Professional career

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Herrera turned pro in 1963 and in 1972 defeated Rubén Olivares by TKO to capture the Lineal, WBC and WBA bantamweight titles.[1][2] 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.[3] 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

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60 fights 47 wins 9 losses
By knockout 20 3
By decision 27 6
Draws 4
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
60 Win 47–9–4   Alfredo Meneses MD 4 1986-02-25   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
59 Draw 46–9–4   Jose Cervantes MD 12 1976-05-23   Maestranza Cesar Giron, Maracay, Venezuela
58 Loss 46–9–3   Jose Luis Soto UD 10 1975-11-10   Los Mochis, Mexico
57 Loss 46–8–3   Octavio Gomez UD 10 1975-07-05   Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
56 Loss 46–7–3   Rodolfo Martínez TKO 4 (15) 1974-12-07   Plaza de Toros, Mérida, Mexico Lost WBC bantamweight title
55 Win 46–6–3   Romeo Anaya TKO 6 (15) 1974-05-25   Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico Retained WBC bantamweight title
54 Win 45–6–3   Venice Borkhorsor SD 15 1973-10-13   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Retained WBC bantamweight title
53 Win 44–6–3   Rodolfo Martínez TKO 12 (15) 1973-04-14   Monterrey, Mexico Won vacant WBC bantamweight title
52 Win 43–6–3   Rubén Olivares MD 10 1972-11-14   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
51 Loss 42–6–3   Enrique Pinder UD 15 1972-07-29   Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama Lost WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
50 Win 42–5–3   Rubén Olivares KO 8 (15) 1972-03-19   Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
49 Win 41–5–3   Chucho Castillo SD 12 1971-08-23   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Retained NABF bantamweight title
48 Win 40–5–3   Modesto Boy Dayaganon KO 2 (8) 1971-06-14   Tijuana, Mexico
47 Win 39–5–3   Cesar Deciga TKO 10 (10) 1971-04-02   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
46 Win 38–5–3   Rodolfo Martinez MD 12 1971-01-20   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Won vacant NABF bantamweight title
45 Win 37–5–3   Octavio Gomez UD 10 1970-09-05   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
44 Win 36–5–3   Jose Lopez UD 10 1970-04-18   The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
43 Win 35–5–3   Cesar Chuy Chavez TKO 2 (8) 1970-03-17   Tijuana, Mexico
42 Win 34–5–3   Yoshiki Suda KO 3 (10) 1970-01-20   Tijuana, Mexico
41 Win 33–5–3   Lenny Brice TKO 3 (10) 1969-09-25   Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
40 Loss 32–5–3   Raul Cruz SD 10 1969-07-26   Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
39 Draw 32–4–3   Billy McGrandle SD 10 1969-04-17   Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
38 Win 32–4–2   Ricardo Solis TKO 5 (10) 1969-03-29   Plaza de Toros, Torreón, Mexico
37 Win 31–4–2   Ken Nagamine UD 10 1969-03-04   Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
36 Loss 30–4–2   Chucho Castillo TKO 3 (12) 1969-02-15   Plaza de Toros Monumental, Monterrey, Mexico For Mexico bantamweight title
35 Win 30–3–2   Jerry Stokes UD 10 1968-12-19   Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
34 Win 29–3–2   Lenny Brice UD 10 1968-11-21   Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
33 Win 28–3–2   Guillermo Tellez TKO 9 (10) 1968-09-28   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
32 Win 27–3–2   Ronnie Jones TKO 3 (10) 1968-08-03   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
31 Win 26–3–2   Santos Sandoval TKO 2 (10) 1968-06-29   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
30 Win 25–3–2   Raul Vega UD 10 1968-03-30   Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
29 Win 24–3–2   Alex Rivera UD 10 1967-12-05   Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S.
28 Win 23–3–2   Ricardo Solis KO 5 (10) 1967-10-17   Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S.
27 Draw 22–3–2   Lupe Gonzalez TD 8 (10) 1967-09-19   Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S.
26 Win 22–3–1   Elias Vargas UD 10 1967-08-18   San Bernardino, California, U.S.
25 Win 21–3–1   Elias Vargas UD 10 1967-07-06   Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
24 Win 20–3–1   Alex Rivera UD 10 1967-06-05   Memorial Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California, U.S.
23 Win 19–3–1   Antonio Perez UD 10 1967-05-16   San Jose, California, U.S.
22 Win 18–3–1   Jose Hernandez UD 6 1967-04-06   Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
21 Win 17–3–1   Manuel Magallanes UD 6 1967-03-02   Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
20 Draw 16–3–1   Gerardo Luna MD 10 1967-01-21   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
19 Win 16–3   Alfredo Meneses UD 10 1966-11-16   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
18 Win 15–3   Cornelio Vega UD 10 1966-07-13   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
17 Win 14–3   Gerardo Luna UD 10 1966-06-08   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
16 Win 13–3   Coruco Contreras KO 10 (10) 1966-01-06   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
15 Win 12–3   Coruco Contreras KO 8 (10) 1965-11-08   Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico
14 Win 11–3   Alfredo Meneses UD 10 1965-10-09   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
13 Loss 10–3   Gerardo Luna UD 10 1965-05-01   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
12 Win 10–2   Rogelio Rea TKO 4 (8) 1965-04-03   Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
11 Win 9–2   Cid Cardenas UD 8 1965-01-27   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
10 Win 8–2   Andres Molina TKO 7 (8) 1964-11-21   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
9 Win 7–2   Alfonso Izquierdo UD 6 1964-10-10   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
8 Win 6–2   Miguel Zamudio TKO 8 (8) 1964-09-20   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
7 Win 5–2   Jose Luis Madrid TKO 2 (6) 1964-08-26   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
6 Loss 4–2   Jose Luis Madrid KO 4 (6) 1964-02-07   Poza Rica, Mexico
5 Loss 4–1   Alfonso Jose Cazares SD 6 1963-09-21   Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
4 Win 4–0   David Monroy UD 6 1963-07-13   Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
3 Win 3–0   Wenceslao Angeles UD 4 1963-05-25   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
2 Win 2–0   Raul Martinez UD 4 1963-04-17   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico
1 Win 1–0   Memo Gonzalez UD 4 1963-03-20   Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico

Personal life

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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

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References

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  1. ^ "Herrera Stops Olivares in 8th And Gains Bantamweight Title". The New York Times. 20 March 1972. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  2. ^ "Rafael Herrera - Lineal Bantamweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  3. ^ "The WBC mourns the death of Rodolfo Martínez". World Boxing Council. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
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Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Chucho Castillo
NABF bantamweight champion
January 20, 1971 – 1971
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
David Vasquez
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA bantamweight champion
March 19, 1972 - July 29, 1972
Succeeded by
WBC bantamweight champion
March 19, 1972 - July 29, 1972
The Ring bantamweight champion
March 19, 1972 - July 29, 1972
Undisputed bantamweight champion
March 19, 1972 - July 29, 1972
Vacant
Title last held by
Enrique Pinder
WBC bantamweight champion
April 14, 1973 - December 7, 1974
Succeeded by