Vicente Rondón

Vicente Paúl Rondón (July 29, 1938 – December 28, 1992) was a Venezuelan professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1974, holding the WBA light heavyweight title from 1971 to 1972.

Vicente Rondón
Statistics
Real nameVicente Paul Rondón
Nickname(s)El Muchachote de Barlovento
Weight(s)Light heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
NationalityVenezuelan
Born(1938-07-29)July 29, 1938
San José de Río Chico, Miranda, Venezuela
DiedDecember 28, 1992(1992-12-28) (aged 54)
Caracas, Miranda, Venezuela
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights57
Wins39
Wins by KO22
Losses15
Draws1
No contests2

Personal background

Rondón was born into extreme poverty in San José de Río Chico, Miranda, Venezuela, and decided to escape his poor surroundings by enlisting in the Venezuelan military at an early age.

Professional career

When Rondón turned professional, his year of birth was listed as 1944; in fact it was 1938. Rondón began fighting as a middleweight and made a name for himself with upset victories over former world welterweight champion Luis Rodríguez and middleweight contender Bennie Briscoe. However, Rondon was growing and quickly established himself as a top rated light heavyweight with impressive wins over Roger Rouse, Eddie Talhami, and Allen Thomas. World Light heavyweight Champion Bob Foster did not seem eager to fight the #2 ranked Rondón or the #1 rated Jimmy Dupree. The WBA stripped Foster of his title and matched Rondón and Dupree.

In an exciting slugfest, Rondón climbed off the canvas in the second round to stop the favored Dupree at 2:58 of the 6th round. At the time of the stoppage, referee Zack Clayton had the fight scored even at 47–47. Judge Dimas Hernandez also scored the bout 47–47, and judge Gustavo Vargas favored Rondón, 48–47. Following the fight, a controversy broke out with Dupree claiming he was drugged. The United Press International published a story of the claim. In the UPI article, Charliese Smith, a registered nurse and friend of Dupree said, "I believe Jimmy was drugged. I saw Jimmy after the fight and he was very very weak. His vision was blurry and he couldn't even see the other side of the room." She went on to say, "I know of muscle relaxants that can be administered in food and I'm convinced that Jimmy was given something." Regardless of the charges, the World Boxing Association recognized Rondón as world champion, while The Ring magazine viewed Bob Foster as the legitimate Light heavyweight king.

1971 was an outstanding year for Rondón with a number of title defenses. He became the first and only fighter to stop Gomeo Brennan. Many experts felt that Rondón could and would defeat Bob Foster. Rondon flopped badly against Foster in 1972; being destroyed in two rounds. A venture into the heavyweight ranks proved just as bad, as he was beaten by Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle and José Urtain. Rondón did better in 1973 as he started to trim down in weight. He looked highly skilled and impressive by scoring a 10 round decision over undefeated prospect Oliver Wright on Miami Beach. Shortly after, he stopped heavyweight Mike "Jim" Boswell in four rounds.

Sadly, Rondón's private life was full of demons. He was developing a drinking problem and spending money like it was going out of style. An attempt to regain the light heavyweight title, saw him drop a decision to number 1 rated Len Hutchins, and then suffer a 9th round technical knockout to John Conteh. In 1974, Rondón, weighing 188 pounds, went back to the heavyweight division, where he would be largely unsuccessful. He was unable to get off the stool for round three in his fight with Rodney Bobick at Miami Beach, Florida. In his next fight he was knocked out in two rounds by former world heavyweight title contender José Roman.

Life after boxing

Shortly thereafter Rondón's career hit the skids and so did he. He was confined to a mental hospital, and later arrested on charges of robbing a store for $150. Rondon served a prison sentence, and there are unconfirmed reports that he boxed some exhibitions or possibly a professional match while incarcerated. Rondón was released from prison a physical wreck. Vicente Paul Rondón, the boxing idol of his country, died forgotten, broke and in poverty in Santa Ana de Carapita, a slum of Caracas. Rondón had been living with his elderly mother at the time. He was 54 when he died.

Professional boxing record

39 Wins (22 knockouts), 15 Losses (7 knockouts), 1 Draw, 2 No Contests[1]
Res. Record Opponent Type Round
Time
Date Location Notes
Loss39–15–1
2 NC
José Roman TKO 2 (10) 1974–06–06 Curtis Hixon Hall,
Tampa, Florida
Loss39–14–1
2 NC
Rodney Bobick TKO 3 (10) 1974–02–19 Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Loss39–13–1
2 NC
Rudiger Schmidtke PTS 10 1973–11–17 Frankfurt, Hesse
Loss39–12–1
2 NC
John Conteh TKO 9 (10) 1973–09–10 Empire Pool, London
Win39–11–1
2 NC
Mike Boswell TKO 4 (10) 1973–08–24 Indianapolis
Loss38–11–1
2 NC
Tom Bogs PTS 10 1973–06–14 K.B. Hallen,
Copenhagen, Capital Region
Loss38–10–1
2 NC
Len Hutchins PTS 10 1973–05–19 Detroit, Michigan
Win38–9–1
2 NC
Oliver Wright PTS 10 1973–04–03 Miami Beach, Florida
Win37–9–1
2 NC
Larry Beilfuss PTS 10 1973–02–15 Roberto Clemente Coliseum,
San Juan
Loss36–9–1
2 NC
José Manuel Urtain PTS 10 1972–12–01 Madrid
Loss36–8–1
2 NC
Earnie Shavers UD 10 1972–08–26 Canton Auditorium,
Canton, Ohio
Loss36–7–1
2 NC
Ron Lyle TKO 2 (10)
1:41
1972–07–10 Denver, Colorado
Loss36–6–1
2 NC
Bob Foster TKO 2 (15)
2:55
1972–04–07 Miami Beach Convention Hall,
Miami Beach, Florida
For WBC
light heavyweight title
Lost WBA
light heavyweight title
Win36–5–1
2 NC
Doyle Baird TKO 8 (15)
2:10
1971–12–15 Cleveland Arena,
Cleveland, Ohio
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win35–5–1
2 NC
Gomeo Brennan TKO 14 (15) 1971–10–26 Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win34–5–1
2 NC
Conny Velensek PTS 15 1971–10–14 Berlin Non-title fight.
Win33–5–1
2 NC
Eddie Jones UD 15 1971–08–21 Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win32–5–1
2 NC
Johnny Griffin PTS 15 1971–07–11 Valencia, Valencia Non-title fight.
Win31–5–1
2 NC
Piero del Papa KO 1 (15) 1971–06–05 Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Retained WBA
light heavyweight title
Win30–5–1
2 NC
Jimmy Dupree KO 6 (15)
2:58
1971–02–27 Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Won vacant WBA
Light heavyweight title
Win29–5–1
2 NC
Roger Rouse UD 10 1970–11–07 Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Win28–5–1
2 NC
Willie Johnson TKO 4 (10) 1970–10–06 Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Win27–5–1
2 NC
Hydra Lacy KO 2 (10) 1970–08–11 Miami Beach Auditorium,
Miami Beach, Florida
Win26–5–1
2 NC
Levan Roundtree PTS 10 1970–05–20 Mayagüez
Win25–5–1
2 NC
Fred Williams KO 4 (10) 1970–04–18 San Juan
Win24–5–1
2 NC
Avenamar Peralta PTS 10 1969–12–06 Buenos Aires
Win23–5–1
2 NC
Randy Stevens KO 5 (10) 1969–11–29 San Juan
Win22–5–1
2 NC
Angel Oquendo TKO 6 (10) 1969–10–26 San Juan
No Contest21–5–1
2 NC
Paul Johnson NC 7 (10) 1969–08–09 San Juan
Win21–5–1
1 NC
Eddie Talhami PTS 10 1969–07–05 San Juan
Win20–5–1
1 NC
José Luis García PTS 12 1969–05–30 Caracas, Venezuela Won vacant Venezuelan
light heavyweight title
Win19–5–1
1 NC
Karl Zurheide UD 10 1969–05–06 Aragon Ballroom,
Chicago, Illinois
Win18–5–1
1 NC
Allen Thomas PTS 10 1969–04–01 Aragon Ballroom,
Chicago, Illinois
Loss17–5–1
1 NC
Bennie Briscoe TKO 8 (10) 1969–01–26 San Juan
Win17–4–1
1 NC
Charlie Jordan PTS 10 1968–11–26 Miami Beach, Florida
Win16–4–1
1 NC
Charlie Jordan UD 10 1968–11–12 Miami Beach, Florida
Loss15–4–1
1 NC
Juarez de Lima PTS 10 1968–11–03 San Juan
Win15–3–1
1 NC
Bennie Briscoe UD 10 1968–09–23 Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Win14–3–1
1 NC
Charley Austin PTS 10 1968–09–09 San Juan
Loss13–3–1
1 NC
Luis Manuel Rodríguez UD 10 1968–07–18 Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Win13–2–1
1 NC
Luis Manuel Rodríguez UD 10 1968–06–03 Hiram Bithorn Stadium,
San Juan
Loss12–2–1
1 NC
José González TKO 8 (10)
1:19
1968–04–19 National Maritime Union Hall,
New York City
Loss12–1–1
1 NC
Bobby Warthen SD 10 1968–01–12 National Maritime Union Hall,
New York City
Win12–0–1
1 NC
Phil Robinson KO 5 (10) 1967–12–14 Caracas, Venezuela
Draw11–0–1
1 NC
Harold Richardson PTS 10 1967–11–10 San Juan
Win11–0
1 NC
Pedro Miranda TKO 10 (10) 1967–10–14 San Juan
Win10–0
1 NC
Tony Smith KO 3 (10) 1967–09–08 Manuel Carrasquillo Peren Stadium,
Río Piedras
Win9–0
1 NC
Marco Tulio Polanco KO 3 (10) 1967–06–12 Caracas, Venezuela
Win8–0
1 NC
Danny Machado TKO 4 (10) 1967–03–20 Palacio de Deportes,
Caracas, Venezuela
No Contest7–0
1 NC
Marco Tulio Polanco NC 2 (10) 1966–12–04 Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Win7–0 Marcos Pirella KO 2 (10) 1966–11–14 Caracas, Venezuela
Win6–0 Melville Bennett KO 2 (10) 1966–09–16 Caracas, Venezuela
Win5–0 Marco Tulio Polanco KO 3 (10) 1966–06–24 Nuevo Circo,
Caracas, Venezuela
Win4–0 Pedro Vanegas KO 6 (10) 1965–11–05 Cartagena, Bolívar
Win3–0 Pedro Vanegas KO 4 (10) 1965–10–29 Barranquilla, Atlántico
Win2–0 Joe Louis Troconis KO 1 (?) 1965–07–26 Palacio de Deportes,
Caracas, Venezuela
Win1–0 Joe Carabella KO 2 (?) 1965–06–28 Palacio de Deportes,
Caracas, Venezuela

See also

References

  • Ring Boxing Record Book 1975.
  • Miami Herald, February 20, 1974, Sports.
  • Fight Program: JOE KING ROMAN VS LEVI FORTE, March 17, 1977, War Memorial Auditorium, Tastee Concerts Sports (James P. Keough, promoter, Rocky Golio, matchmaker, John Ferero, coordinator)-Promotion, Robert L. Agree and VFW Post No. 1966, page 3: Joe King Roman Bio: "Fought LHVY Champion Vincente Rondon(1975), won by knockout in 10 rounds.
  • Ring Magazine, June 1971, pages 30,59: RONDON STOPS DUPREE BUT THE RING STILL BACKS FOSTER, by Randy Gallagher.
  • Vicente Rondon vs Bob Foster on YouTube
Preceded by
Bob Foster
Stripped
WBA Light Heavyweight Champion
27 Feb 1971–7 Apr 1972
Succeeded by
Bob Foster
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