5 Best Boxers From Colombia

For decades, many top boxers have been produced within the nation of Colombia. Numerous top boxers, who went on to have great careers and win multiple championships.

Here’s a list of the 5 best boxers from Colombia. Check out the list of Colombian champions who fought from Bogota to Medellin before making it to the international stage.

Rodrigo Valdez

Rodrigo Valdez isn’t only one of the 5 best boxers from Colombia, he is one of the country’s first great champions.For seventeen years from 1963 to 1980, Valdez was one of the best middleweight boxers in the world.

From 1970 to 1976, Valdez went unbeaten and stopped Bennie Briscoe twice for the NABF and WBC Middleweight Championships. Then after losing to KO artis Carlos Monzon, Valdez beat Briscoe for a third time to become the undisputed middleweight champion.

After retiring with a record of 63-8-2, Rodrigo Valdez went down as one of the greatest Columbian sportsmen of all time.

Antonio Cervantes

At the same time Rodrigo Valdez was winning titles, fellow countrymen Antonio Cervantes was dominating the light welterweight division. Cervantes fought for an incredible 23 years from 1961 to 1983.

After amassing a record of 34-9-1, Cervantes got a shot at the light welterweight title against Alfonso Frazer. “Kid Pambele” defended his WBA and The Ring title 10 times in a four-year span before he lost his title.

Then towards the end of Antonio’s fighting career, he won back the WBA title and defended it six times. Antonio would later be honored by The Ring as one of the 80 best fighters of the last 80 years.

Jorge Eliecer Julio

During the 1990s, Jorge Eliever Julio made his name as one of the 5 best boxers from Colombia ever. After winning an Olympic bronze medal in 1988, Julio went pro and made a name for himself in the bantamweight division.

Jorge won his first twenty six fights of his pro career before winning the WBA Bantamweight Championship against Eddie Cook. He held the belt for one year before losing his title to Junior Jones by decision.

It took Eliever Julio eight years to get another title shot towards the end of his career. Julio won the WBO bantamweight title in 1998 and held it for two years before retiring in 2003. 

Antonio Pitalua

Antonio Pitalua was another one of the five best boxers from Columbia, who was a prominent fighter from 1992-2012. During Antonio’s career, he bounced back and forth between the welterweight and super welterweight division.

He fought the majority of his fights in Mexico where his training camp was located. Pitalua amassed over 60 professional fights and won numerous regional titles during his career.

Oscar Negrete

Oscar Negrete is the last on our list of the best five boxers from Colombia, who recently retired. The bantamweight champion is a former South American Games champion, who has fought well as a pro.

In Negrete’s 25 professional bouts, he has won the WBC-NABF bantamweight title and the WBA International bantamweight title. He also fought for the WBC super bantamweight title, but lost to Rey Vargas by decision.