Ernesto España was a Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n boxer who held the World Boxing Association

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 lightweight

Lightweight

Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....

 championship in 1979 and 1980.

España became a professional boxer in 1975 and won all of his bouts except one when he fought Claude Noel

Claude Noel (boxer)

Claude Noel is a former Tobagonian professional boxer. During his career, which spanned from 1973 to 1984, Noel held the WBA World Lightweight title and the Commonwealth Lightweight title....

 on June 16, 1979, for the vacant WBA lightweight title that had been given up by Roberto Durán

Roberto Durán

Roberto Durán Samaniego is a retired professional boxer from Panama, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" during his career....

. España knocked out Noel in the thirteenth round to win the title. He defended it once, knocking out Johnny Lira, before losing the title to Hilmer Kenty

Hilmer Kenty

James Kenty, also known as Hilmer Kenty is a former WBA professional boxing champion in the lightweight division.- Amateur career :...

 by knockout in March 1980. In a rematch in September, Kenty knocked España out again.

In 1981 he beat future champion Arturo Frias

Arturo Frias

Arturo Frias is a retired American boxer. He is a native of Montebello, California.-Boxing career:Frias began his professional boxing career on February 7, 1975, one month and a half after he had turned eighteen years old. He beat Alfredo Medrano by a six round decision in San Diego that night...

. When Frias won the WBA lightweight title, España challenged him but Frias avenged his only loss and won a technical decision over España in 1982.

España's next fight was another challenge for the WBA lightweight title, but this time Ray Mancini

Ray Mancini

Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini is a retired Italian-American boxer. He held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship from 1982 to 1984. Mancini inherited his distinctive nickname from his father, veteran boxer Lenny "Boom Boom" Mancini, who laid the foundation for his son's career...

 knocked him out in six rounds in July 1982. España never challenged for a world title again and retired in 1988.

His brother Crisanto España

Crisanto España

Crisanto España was a professional boxer in the welterweight division.España fought out of Belfast, Northern Ireland and turned pro in 1984. España impressively won his first 30 fights, including the WBA Welterweight Title with an upset TKO in the 8th round over Meldrick Taylor in 1992...

 won the welterweight

Welterweight

Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

 title in the early 1990s.

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