Armando Ramos (November 15, 1948 – July 6, 2008) was an American professional boxer[1] and the former two-time WBC and WBA Lightweight Champion.[2] He was born in Long Beach, California.[3] Armando "Mando" Ramos was one of the most popular fighters in Southern California during the 1960s.[4] Ramos was an outstanding amateur.[5]
Mando Ramos | |
---|---|
Born | Armando Ramos November 15, 1948 Long Beach, California, United States |
Died | July 6, 2008 San Pedro, California, United States | (aged 59)
Statistics | |
Weight(s) | Lightweight |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
Reach | 71+1⁄2 in (182 cm) |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 49 |
Wins | 37 |
Wins by KO | 23 |
Losses | 11 |
Draws | 1 |
Professional career
editMando Ramos turned pro at age 17 using a forged birth certificate.[citation needed] Mando went on to fight the main event at the Olympic Auditorium by his 8th pro fight.[6] At the age of 18 Mando defeated the reigning Jr. Lightweight Champ, Japan's Hiroshi Kobayashi, in a non-title bout. When offered a re-match for the title, Ramos refused to fight for a 'Junior' title.[7]
World Lightweight Champion
editHe demanded to fight dangerous Lightweight Champ Carlos Ortiz—Ortiz, who had dominated the division for over a decade.[8] Negotiations were in place, but Ortiz was upset by 'Teo' Cruz and so Ramos took the fight to the new champ, narrowly losing in a decision. Ramos won the re-match via KO to become the youngest Lightweight Champion in history.[9] Cruz would only live 11 more months. He died in a plane crash in January 1970 alongside the Puerto Rican national women's volleyball team at the Dominicana DC-9 air disaster.
When a Mando Ramos fight was held in Los Angeles, movie stars such as John Wayne, Bill Cosby, Kirk Douglas, Liz Taylor and Connie Stevens attended [citation needed]. Women caught Mandomania, and Hollywood loved 'The Wonder Boy'.[10][11]
Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Jackie McCoy,[12] Ramos fought ten World title fights, was a two-time champion and earned millions of dollars. Whilst Mickey Mantle and Joe Namath earned 100k per season, Ramos was earning 100k per fight. He was the world's highest paid teenager[citation needed] and his purses were larger than anyone but Muhammad Ali's[citation needed]. McCoy stated Mando was the most naturally talented fighter he had ever seen in his life.[13]
Retirement
editTough fights, drugs, and alcohol put the brakes on his career. By age 24 Ramos was out of boxing.[14] With the aid of his wife, Sylvia Van Hecke, Ramos became clean and sober over his last three decades.[15] He founded a non-profit youth organization---B.A.A.D.--boxing against alcohol and drugs— and coached, mentored, and trained inner-city at-risk youths.[16][17]
Mando Ramos died suddenly at his home in San Pedro, California on July 6, 2008.[18][19]
Professional boxing record
edit49 fights | 37 wins | 11 losses |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 23 | 6 |
By decision | 14 | 4 |
By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
Draws | 1 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Age | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
49 | Loss | 37–11–1 | Wayne Beale | TKO | 2 (10) | Oct 29, 1975 | 26 years, 348 days | Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
48 | Win | 37–10–1 | Antonio Leyva | TKO | 7 (10) | Oct 15, 1975 | 26 years, 334 days | Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
47 | Win | 36–10–1 | Tony Martinez | UD | 10 | Sep 2, 1975 | 26 years, 291 days | Red Carpet Inn, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
46 | Loss | 35–10–1 | Tony Martinez | SD | 10 | Jul 30, 1975 | 26 years, 257 days | Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
45 | Loss | 35–9–1 | Wolfgang Gans | TKO | 5 (?) | Jul 12, 1974 | 25 years, 239 days | Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares, Spain | |
44 | Loss | 35–8–1 | Wolfgang Gans | KO | 2 (?) | Jun 3, 1974 | 25 years, 200 days | Luebeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | |
43 | Win | 35–7–1 | Arpad Magyar | KO | 4 (?) | May 16, 1974 | 25 years, 182 days | Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg, Germany | |
42 | Win | 34–7–1 | Mi Whan Kim | TKO | 2 (8) | May 10, 1974 | 25 years, 176 days | Luebeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | |
41 | Draw | 33–7–1 | Jaroslav Travnik | PTS | 8 | May 4, 1974 | 25 years, 170 days | Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria | |
40 | Loss | 33–7 | Arturo Pineda | TKO | 5 (10) | Aug 9, 1973 | 24 years, 267 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
39 | Loss | 33–6 | Chango Carmona | TKO | 8 (15) | Sep 15, 1972 | 23 years, 305 days | Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Lost WBC lightweight title |
38 | Win | 33–5 | Pedro Carrasco | SD | 15 | Jun 28, 1972 | 23 years, 226 days | Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain | Retained WBC lightweight title |
37 | Win | 32–5 | Pedro Carrasco | SD | 15 | Feb 18, 1972 | 23 years, 95 days | Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Won WBC lightweight title |
36 | Loss | 31–5 | Pedro Carrasco | DQ | 12 (15) | Nov 5, 1971 | 22 years, 355 days | Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain | For vacant WBC lightweight title |
35 | Win | 31–4 | Ruben Navarro | UD | 10 | Sep 30, 1971 | 22 years, 319 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
34 | Win | 30–4 | Raul Rojas | TKO | 6 (10) | Dec 10, 1970 | 22 years, 25 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
33 | Win | 29–4 | Sugar Ramos | SD | 10 | Aug 6, 1970 | 21 years, 264 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
32 | Loss | 28–4 | Ismael Laguna | TKO | 9 (15) | Mar 3, 1970 | 21 years, 108 days | Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Lost WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles |
31 | Win | 28–3 | Raton Palacios | UD | 10 | Jan 13, 1970 | 21 years, 59 days | Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
30 | Win | 27–3 | Yoshiaki Numata | KO | 6 (15) | Oct 4, 1969 | 20 years, 323 days | Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles |
29 | Win | 26–3 | Jerry Graci | TKO | 7 (10) | May 20, 1969 | 20 years, 186 days | Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
28 | Win | 25–3 | Carlos Teo Cruz | TKO | 11 (15) | Feb 18, 1969 | 20 years, 95 days | Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles |
27 | Win | 24–3 | Beau Jaynes | TKO | 2 (10) | Dec 12, 1968 | 20 years, 27 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
26 | Win | 23–3 | Billy Coleman | TKO | 3 (10) | Oct 29, 1968 | 19 years, 349 days | Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
25 | Loss | 22–3 | Carlos Teo Cruz | UD | 15 | Sep 27, 1968 | 19 years, 317 days | Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | For WBA, WBC, The Ring lightweight titles |
24 | Win | 22–2 | Hiroshi Kobayashi | UD | 10 | Jun 20, 1968 | 19 years, 218 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
23 | Win | 21–2 | Phil Garcia | KO | 9 (10) | May 2, 1968 | 19 years, 169 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
22 | Win | 20–2 | Frankie Crawford | UD | 10 | Feb 1, 1968 | 19 years, 78 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
21 | Loss | 19–2 | Frankie Crawford | MD | 10 | Oct 5, 1967 | 18 years, 324 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
20 | Win | 19–1 | Eliseo Estrada | TKO | 5 (10) | Sep 14, 1967 | 18 years, 303 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
19 | Win | 18–1 | Alex Luna | TKO | 2 (10) | Aug 15, 1967 | 18 years, 273 days | Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, U.S. | |
18 | Loss | 17–1 | Kang Il Suh | UD | 10 | Jul 6, 1967 | 18 years, 233 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
17 | Win | 17–0 | Len Kesey | TKO | 5 (10) | Jun 22, 1967 | 18 years, 219 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
16 | Win | 16–0 | Pete Gonzalez | UD | 10 | Mar 30, 1967 | 18 years, 135 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
15 | Win | 15–0 | Ray Echevarria | UD | 10 | Jan 12, 1967 | 18 years, 58 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
14 | Win | 14–0 | Al Franklin | KO | 4 (10) | Nov 28, 1966 | 18 years, 13 days | Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, U.S. | |
13 | Win | 13–0 | Al Franklin | UD | 10 | Nov 17, 1966 | 18 years, 2 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
12 | Win | 12–0 | Allen Syers | TKO | 5 (10) | Oct 13, 1966 | 17 years, 332 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
11 | Win | 11–0 | Jorge Baby Salazar | UD | 10 | Sep 8, 1966 | 17 years, 297 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
10 | Win | 10–0 | Manny Linson | KO | 2 (10) | Aug 11, 1966 | 17 years, 269 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
9 | Win | 9–0 | Ray Coleman | TKO | 6 (10) | Jul 21, 1966 | 17 years, 248 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
8 | Win | 8–0 | Joey Aguilar | KO | 8 (10) | Jul 7, 1966 | 17 years, 234 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
7 | Win | 7–0 | Jerry Stevens | KO | 1 (6) | Jun 23, 1966 | 17 years, 220 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
6 | Win | 6–0 | Bosco Basilio | UD | 6 | May 12, 1966 | 17 years, 178 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
5 | Win | 5–0 | Jose Barrera | KO | 2 (6) | Mar 17, 1966 | 17 years, 122 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
4 | Win | 4–0 | Fidel Cruz | KO | 3 (5) | Mar 3, 1966 | 17 years, 108 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
3 | Win | 3–0 | Berlin Roberts | KO | 1 (5) | Jan 27, 1966 | 17 years, 73 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
2 | Win | 2–0 | Chuey Loera | KO | 4 (4) | Dec 2, 1965 | 17 years, 17 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
1 | Win | 1–0 | Berlin Roberts | PTS | 5 | Nov 18, 1965 | 17 years, 3 days | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Boxer Mando Ramos dies at 59". USA Today. 2008-07-07.
- ^ "Archives - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 7 November 1990.
- ^ "Mando Ramos: . I Did Love the Cheers of the Crowd | Karl Hegman". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ "Mando Ramos - BoxRec".
- ^ "Falleció Campeón Mundial Mando Ramos". www.notifight.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Falleció ex campeón mundial Armando "Mando" Ramos". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ "Armando Ramos". 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 7 July 2008.
- ^ "ARMANDO RAMOS | the Boxing Republic". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ "L.A. Great Mando Ramos Gone At 59 | TheSweetScience.com Boxing". www.thesweetscience.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-07.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 14 January 1997.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. February 2000.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 25 December 1988.
- ^ "Boxer Mando Ramos".
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 7 February 1991.
- ^ "Boxeo: Muere Mando Ramos, el rival de Pedro Carrasco - inicio . Es". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Mando Ramos: 1948-2008". 7 July 2008.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 9 July 2008.
External links
edit- Boxing record for Mando Ramos from BoxRec (registration required)
- Mando Ramos at IMDb