Hugo Corro
Encyclopedia
Hugo Pastor Corro better known plainly as Hugo Corro, was a former boxer
from Argentina
who was world Middleweight
champion.
Corro beat Rodrigo Valdez
for the world Middleweight title, and he would beat Valdez in a rematch. Valdez had succeeded Carlos Monzón
as world champion. Since Monzon had beaten Valdez twice also during his period as champion, the comparisons between Corro and Monzon became inevitable. The fact that Corro went to Europe to defend his title was another common trait he shared with Monzon. Corro's championship reign would ultimately prove to be inferior to Monzon's however, as Corro defended his title successfully only twice, and Monzon retained the crown for a then record of fourteen times.
victory against Gustavo Dieff in the Argentine city of Tunuyan
. His first ten bouts as a professional were held in Tunuyan. He had a draw (tie) against Pedro Pablo Bazan during his second fight, held on September 15, 16 days after his debut.
Corro reeled off three consecutive knockout wins, then faced Bazan in a rematch, on December 7. On his last fight of 1973, Corro was declared winner when Bazan was disqualified in the fourth round.
Corro won one more fight, and then, he fought ten rounds for the first time in his career, when he defeated Ramon Roberts by a ten round decision on February 6, 1974. After another victory, he fought Juan Carlos Artaza on July 17. From a status standpoint, the fight had little significance, since Artaza only had two previous bouts, and he had lost both of them. But this was Corro's first fight outside Tunuyan. He beat Artaza by a ten round decision in San Juan
.
After one more win, he faced Hugo Saavedra, then a well established Middleweight contender, on November 11. Saavedra gave Corro his first defeat, when he knocked out the future champion in the eighth round.
Corro rebounded with a sixth round knockout win over Hugo Obregon on March 7, 1975. That marked the beginning of a thirteen fight winning streak, which included a rematch with Roberts, knocked out in six on July 4, two more fights with Obregon, both of which ended with Corro winning ten round decisions, a victory by decision in ten against Norberto Cabrera, and two more fights against Saavedra.
His first rematch with Saavedra, on September 27, marked Corro's Buenos Aires
debut. Corro was able to avenge his first defeat when he outpointed Saavedra over ten rounds. Their third bout, held on March 5, 1976 at Córdoba
, ended when Saavedra was disqualified in the tenth round.
After a win against Roque Roldan, Corro met Norberto Cabrera for a second time. On May 21, he lost to Cabrera by a ten round decision, in Buenos Aires. Corro, however, once again bounced back well, winning his next seven fights by knockout, including a rematch with Juan Carlos Artaza, who was beaten in round ten on September 10.
On December 10, he got his first shot at a title, when he fought Julio Medina for the vacant Argentine Middleweight title. Corro won the national championship by knocking Medina out in round three of a fight that was scheduled for twelve rounds.
After two victories over Rodolfo Rosales, Corro had his first fight abroad, boxing against Marcelo Quinones
on May 9, 1977, for the South American Middleweight title, in Lima, Peru. He conquered the continental championship by decisioning Quinones over twelve rounds. The win also earned him a spot among the world's top ten Middleweight challengers for the first time.
Corro followed that win with seven more victories, including title defenses of both his Argentine and his South American Middleweight titles, before he got his first opportunity at becoming world champion: on April 22, 1978, Corro became the undisputed world Middleweight champion by beating Valdez by a fifteen round decision in Italy.
His first world title defense came against Ronnie Harris
, on August 5, back in Argentina. He outpointed Harris over fifteen rounds, and then, on November 11, he retained the title in his rematch with Valdez, by a fifteen round decision at Buenos Aires.
He traveled to Monte Carlo
, where Monzon defended his title a few times, to face Vito Antuofermo
for his third world title defense. Corro lost the title on June 30 of 1979 in a fight that was actually held at Monaco
's royal palace. Corro in reality lost his title by only one point, as Antuofermo beat him by a split decision, and each judge had a one point difference on their scorecard (scores of 146-145, 145-146 and 142-143). Asked about the fight during the press conference that proceeded it, Corro answered "I only had one problem, his head". By saying this, he meant that he felt Antuofermo butted him many times during the contest.
After winning one more fight and losing another one, Corro decided to retire for the first time in 1981. Inspired by the relative success of his much younger brother Osvaldo, a contender during the late 1980s, however, Hugo attempted a comeback during 1988. He made some headlines after winning his first two bouts, but he lost three of his next four bouts, with one draw. On September 16 of '88 he lost to another famous Argentine boxer, Juan Roldán
, by knockout in round one. After losing by knockout in four rounds to Hugo Antonio Corti on February 17 of 1989, Corro retired from boxing for good.
Corro had one fight in Chile
. He never boxed in the United States as a professional.
Corro had a record of 50 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws as a professional boxer, with 29 wins by way of knockout. On June 15, 2007, he died after suffering from an acute liver disease.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
who was world Middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
champion.
Corro beat Rodrigo Valdez
Rodrigo Valdez
Rodrigo Valdéz is a former boxer from Colombia who was a two-time world middleweight champion and former undisputed middleweight champion of the world whose rivalry with Carlos Monzón has long been considered among the most legendary boxing rivalries. Valdez was trained by International Boxing...
for the world Middleweight title, and he would beat Valdez in a rematch. Valdez had succeeded Carlos Monzón
Carlos Monzón
Carlos Monzón was an Argentine professional boxer who held the undisputed world middleweight title for 7 years, during which he successfully defended the title 14 times....
as world champion. Since Monzon had beaten Valdez twice also during his period as champion, the comparisons between Corro and Monzon became inevitable. The fact that Corro went to Europe to defend his title was another common trait he shared with Monzon. Corro's championship reign would ultimately prove to be inferior to Monzon's however, as Corro defended his title successfully only twice, and Monzon retained the crown for a then record of fourteen times.
Professional career
Hugo Corro began fighting as a professional on August 30, 1973, with a sixth round knockoutKnockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
victory against Gustavo Dieff in the Argentine city of Tunuyan
Tunuyán
Tunuyán is a city in the west of the province of Mendoza, Argentina, located on the western shore of the Tunuyán River, south from the provincial capital Mendoza and east of the Chilean border. It has 42,125 inhabitants as per the , and is the head town of the Tunuyán Department...
. His first ten bouts as a professional were held in Tunuyan. He had a draw (tie) against Pedro Pablo Bazan during his second fight, held on September 15, 16 days after his debut.
Corro reeled off three consecutive knockout wins, then faced Bazan in a rematch, on December 7. On his last fight of 1973, Corro was declared winner when Bazan was disqualified in the fourth round.
Corro won one more fight, and then, he fought ten rounds for the first time in his career, when he defeated Ramon Roberts by a ten round decision on February 6, 1974. After another victory, he fought Juan Carlos Artaza on July 17. From a status standpoint, the fight had little significance, since Artaza only had two previous bouts, and he had lost both of them. But this was Corro's first fight outside Tunuyan. He beat Artaza by a ten round decision in San Juan
San Juan, Argentina
San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....
.
After one more win, he faced Hugo Saavedra, then a well established Middleweight contender, on November 11. Saavedra gave Corro his first defeat, when he knocked out the future champion in the eighth round.
Corro rebounded with a sixth round knockout win over Hugo Obregon on March 7, 1975. That marked the beginning of a thirteen fight winning streak, which included a rematch with Roberts, knocked out in six on July 4, two more fights with Obregon, both of which ended with Corro winning ten round decisions, a victory by decision in ten against Norberto Cabrera, and two more fights against Saavedra.
His first rematch with Saavedra, on September 27, marked Corro's Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
debut. Corro was able to avenge his first defeat when he outpointed Saavedra over ten rounds. Their third bout, held on March 5, 1976 at Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, ended when Saavedra was disqualified in the tenth round.
After a win against Roque Roldan, Corro met Norberto Cabrera for a second time. On May 21, he lost to Cabrera by a ten round decision, in Buenos Aires. Corro, however, once again bounced back well, winning his next seven fights by knockout, including a rematch with Juan Carlos Artaza, who was beaten in round ten on September 10.
On December 10, he got his first shot at a title, when he fought Julio Medina for the vacant Argentine Middleweight title. Corro won the national championship by knocking Medina out in round three of a fight that was scheduled for twelve rounds.
After two victories over Rodolfo Rosales, Corro had his first fight abroad, boxing against Marcelo Quinones
Marcelo Quiñones
Marcelo Quiñonez is a former boxer from Peru. He was one of South America's top ranked middleweights during the 1970s.-Professional career:...
on May 9, 1977, for the South American Middleweight title, in Lima, Peru. He conquered the continental championship by decisioning Quinones over twelve rounds. The win also earned him a spot among the world's top ten Middleweight challengers for the first time.
Corro followed that win with seven more victories, including title defenses of both his Argentine and his South American Middleweight titles, before he got his first opportunity at becoming world champion: on April 22, 1978, Corro became the undisputed world Middleweight champion by beating Valdez by a fifteen round decision in Italy.
His first world title defense came against Ronnie Harris
Ronnie Harris
Ronnie W. "Mazel" Harris is a former American boxer, who won a gold medal in the lightweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-Personal:...
, on August 5, back in Argentina. He outpointed Harris over fifteen rounds, and then, on November 11, he retained the title in his rematch with Valdez, by a fifteen round decision at Buenos Aires.
He traveled to Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, where Monzon defended his title a few times, to face Vito Antuofermo
Vito Antuofermo
Vito Antuofermo is an Italian-American actor who is also a former world Middleweight boxing champion.-Background:Antuofermo was born in Italy, in the town of Palo del Colle, which is located about 15 km inland from the city of Bari. but his family moved to the United States when he was 17...
for his third world title defense. Corro lost the title on June 30 of 1979 in a fight that was actually held at Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
's royal palace. Corro in reality lost his title by only one point, as Antuofermo beat him by a split decision, and each judge had a one point difference on their scorecard (scores of 146-145, 145-146 and 142-143). Asked about the fight during the press conference that proceeded it, Corro answered "I only had one problem, his head". By saying this, he meant that he felt Antuofermo butted him many times during the contest.
After winning one more fight and losing another one, Corro decided to retire for the first time in 1981. Inspired by the relative success of his much younger brother Osvaldo, a contender during the late 1980s, however, Hugo attempted a comeback during 1988. He made some headlines after winning his first two bouts, but he lost three of his next four bouts, with one draw. On September 16 of '88 he lost to another famous Argentine boxer, Juan Roldán
Juan Roldán
Juan Domingo Roldán is an Argentine former boxer whose nickname was Martillo . Roldán was very famous across Latin America during the 1980s, many articles about him appearing on Ring En Español magazine....
, by knockout in round one. After losing by knockout in four rounds to Hugo Antonio Corti on February 17 of 1989, Corro retired from boxing for good.
Corro had one fight in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. He never boxed in the United States as a professional.
Corro had a record of 50 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws as a professional boxer, with 29 wins by way of knockout. On June 15, 2007, he died after suffering from an acute liver disease.