Manuel Rubio Medina (born March 30, 1971) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2008. He is a five-time featherweight champion, having held the IBF title thrice between 1991 and 2002, the WBC title in 1995, and the WBO title in 2003.

Manuel Medina
Born
Juan Manuel Rubio Medina

(1971-03-30) March 30, 1971 (age 53)
Other namesMantecas ("Lard")
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1]
Reach69 in (175 cm)[1]
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights84
Wins67
Wins by KO32
Losses16
Draws1

Professional boxing career

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Manuel Medina began his professional boxing career on September 9, 1985, beating Daniel Flores by a four-round decision in Mexicali, Mexico. Medina was only fourteen years old when his first professional fight took place.

Medina won one more fight, then lost two bouts in a row: on December 5, he lost a four-round decision to Gerardo Martinez in his first fight abroad, held in San Jose, California, United States. On January 16, 1986, he suffered his first knockout defeat, being stopped because of a cut by Alex Madrid in San Diego.

After losing to Madrid, Medina had a streak of twenty seven wins in a row. That streak was stopped by Juan C. Salazar, who outpointed Medina over ten rounds on July 10, 1989, in Tijuana. After two more victories, however, Medina contended for his first championship belt, the regional WBA "International" super featherweight title, which he won by a seventh round disqualification victory against Edgar Castro, on December 11 of that same year, in Inglewood. Medina retained that title twice, then defeated Tyrone Jackson on May 21, 1990, also at Inglewood by a twelve-round decision. In his next fight on 5 July, he outpointed former world featherweight champion and Barry McGuigan conqueror, Steve Cruz over ten rounds.

1st Championship Reign

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Medina won four bouts, then had his first chance at becoming a world champion, when, on August 12, 1991, he faced IBF featherweight champion Troy Dorsey in Inglewood. Medina was knocked down twice early, but became a world champion by getting up and defeating Dorsey by a twelve-round decision. He made four defenses of his title, including victories against Tom Johnson, beaten by a nine rounds technical decision and Fabrice Benichou, another world champion boxer, outpointed by Medina over twelve rounds. His first reign as world featherweight champion took him to places like France and Italy.

Medina lost the championship to Johnson by a twelve-round decision on their February 26, 1993 rematch, held in France. He turned to the super featherweight division, where he won one fight, then attempted to become world champion there also. But, on June 26 of the same year, he lost to IBF super featherweight champion John John Molina by a twelve-round decision, in Atlantic City.

2nd Championship Reign

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Medina then returned to featherweight, where he won two more fights before facing Johnson in a rubber match, held on January 28, 1995 at Atlantic City. Johnson retained the IBF featherweight title he had won from Medina by beating him via a twelve-round decision. In his next fight, Medina won the WBC's regional Fecarbox title by defeating Juan Polo Perez by a twelve-round unanimous decision on March 15 in Miami, Florida.

Medina's next fight was televised nationally in the United States, as he became world Featherweight champion for the second time, defeating Alejandro González on September 23 of '95, with a twelve-round unanimous decision, at Sacramento, California, for the WBC featherweight title. He lost the title in his first defense, losing a twelve-round decision to Luisito Espinosa on December 11 at Tokyo, Japan.

After a win, Medina tried to become a three time world featherweight champion by challenging Naseem Hamed for Hamed's WBO title, but he was defeated by Hamed with an eleventh-round knockout on August 31, 1996 in Dublin, Ireland. He followed that loss with a win, and another attempt at winning a world featherweight championship for a third time, this time around in a rematch with Espinosa. held on May 17, 1997. He lost to the Asian champion, this time by an eight rounds technical decision at Intramuros, Philippines. Medina then lost his next fight, by a ninth-round knockout on August 7, to future world champion Derrick Gainer.

On October 18, he recovered from his two loss streak to defeat Jose Ayala in Homestead, Florida, winning the WBA's Fedecentro regional championship, and setting himself in a position to obtain another chance at winning the world featherweight title for the third time. He knocked Ayala out in the eighth round.

3rd Championship Reign

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On April 24, 1998, Medina joined Carlos De León, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Edwin Rosario, Evander Holyfield and a small number of other boxers in the exclusive group of fighters to reign as world champions three or more times in the same division, when he outpointed defending IBF title holder Hector Lizarraga over twelve rounds in San Jose, California. He retained the title on April 16, 1999, in Las Vegas with a nine rounds technical decision over former world super featherweight champion Victor Polo, then proceeded to lose the championship to Paul Ingle.

The fight against Ingle, held on November 13 of the same year, in Hull, England, went on to be considered one of the fights of the year by boxing fans, experts and magazine writers alike. Floored in the second and tenth rounds, Medina almost saved his title when he dropped Ingle in the twelfth and last round. He ended up losing a unanimous decision, however.

Medina then met future world champion Frank Toledo, beating him in Las Vegas by a ten-round decision on May 19, 2000. Toledo then went on to win the IBF title by outpointing Mbulelo Botile, who had defeated Ingle. Medina, meanwhile, picked up two more wins, including a fourth-round knockout over future world title challenger Mike Juarez.

4th Championship Reign

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Medina and Toledo had a rematch on November 16, 2001, with Medina joining Robinson as a four-time world champion in the same division when he knocked Toledo out in the sixth round.

His next fight was filled with controversy. Faced against former two division world champion Johnny Tapia on April 27, 2002, Medina lost the title by a twelve-round majority decision at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. The decision was criticized for months to come by writers from such publications as Ring and KO Magazine. The official scorecards reflected a very close fight, with two judges scoring it 115-113 for Tapia and a third scoring the fight a 114-114 tie.

Medina's first attempt at tying Robinson's record as the only boxer to win a world title in the same division five times came on February 1, 2003, when he and Juan Manuel Márquez faced off in Las Vegas for the IBF championship vacated by Tapia. Medina was knocked out in the seventh round by Marquez, however.

5th Championship Reign

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After two more wins, Medina got his second chance at becoming world featherweight champion for the fifth time against WBO champion Scott Harrison. The two boxers fought for the first time on July 12 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. Medina made history and joined Robinson as the only two fighters in history to be five-time world champions in the same division, by defeating Harrison, who until then had been defeated only once, by a twelve-round split decision. A boxing magazine from the United States then called Medina the gambler's nightmare, because of his tendency to win world featherweight titles, lose them quickly, then regain them just as quick.

Medina and Harrison were rematched on November 29 of the same year, and Harrison regained the WBO title with an eleventh-round knockout of Medina, again, at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow.

Super featherweight

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Medina only fought once in 2004, defeating Leonardo Resendiz on July 23 at Rancho Mirage, California by a third-round knockout, to win the WBA's regional NABA super featherweight title.

He was to fight José Miguel Cotto on August 20, 2005 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Had he beaten Cotto, he would have put himself in a position to challenge for the WBO super featherweight title. Cotto was not able to reduce weight to the super featherweight weight limit, however, so the fight was suspended.

On 31-05-2006 he fought Cassius Baloyi for the IBF super featherweight title, the same title he'd challenged Molina for back in 1993, and lost by 11th-round TKO.

Medina returned to outpoint Kevin Kelley by a twelve-round majority decision, then fought a rematch with Baloyi on 05-07-2007 which was scored a technical draw after Medina suffered a cut from an accidental clash of heads. In his final fight, Medina lost by a two-round TKO to Malcolm Klassen. These final three bouts were all IBF super featherweight Title Eliminators.

Medina has a record of 64 wins and 15 losses in 78 professional boxing bouts, with 30 wins by way of knockout.

Professional boxing record

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84 fights 67 wins 16 losses
By knockout 32 8
By decision 34 8
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Age Location Notes
84 Loss 67–16–1 Malcolm Klassen TKO 2 (12),
1:49
Aug 29, 2008 37 years, 152 days Carousel Casino, Hammanskraal, North-West, South Africa
83 Draw 67–15–1 Cassius Baloyi TD 4 (12) Jul 5, 2007 36 years, 98 days Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa
82 Win 67–15 Kevin Kelley MD 12 Nov 11, 2006 35 years, 226 days Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
81 Loss 66–15 Cassius Baloyi TKO 11 (12),
2:19
May 31, 2006 35 years, 62 days Northern Quest Casino, Airway Heights, Washington, U.S. For IBO and vacant IBF super featherweight titles
80 Win 66–14 Javier Osvaldo Alvarez UD 12 Mar 24, 2006 34 years, 359 days Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
79 Win 65–14 Miguel Angel Galindo RTD 5 (10),
0:10
Sep 9, 2005 34 years, 163 days El Foro, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
78 Win 64–14 Leonardo Resendiz TKO 3 (12) Jul 23, 2004 33 years, 115 days Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. Won vacant NABA super featherweight title
77 Loss 63–14 Scott Harrison TKO 11 (12),
0:31
Nov 29, 2003 32 years, 244 days Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. Lost WBO featherweight title
76 Win 63–13 Scott Harrison SD 12 Jul 12, 2003 32 years, 104 days Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. Won WBO featherweight title
75 Win 62–13 Pedro Cruz KO 1 (?) Jun 6, 2003 32 years, 68 days Auditorio Municipal, Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico
74 Win 61–13 Juan Ruiz TKO 5 (8) Apr 28, 2003 32 years, 29 days Hotel Camino Real, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
73 Loss 60–13 Juan Manuel Márquez TKO 7 (12),
1:18
Feb 1, 2003 31 years, 308 days Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. For vacant IBF featherweight title
72 Loss 60–12 Johnny Tapia MD 12 Apr 27, 2002 31 years, 27 days Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Lost IBF featherweight title
71 Win 60–11 Frank Toledo TKO 5 (12),
0:05
Nov 16, 2001 30 years, 231 days Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Won IBF featherweight title
70 Win 59–11 Mike Juarez KO 4 (10),
2:42
Apr 27, 2001 30 years, 28 days Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
69 Win 58–11 Daniel Rodriguez U 10 Oct 20, 2000 29 years, 204 days Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
68 Win 57–11 Frank Toledo UD 10 May 19, 2000 29 years, 50 days Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
67 Loss 56–11 Paul Ingle UD 12 Nov 13, 1999 28 years, 228 days K.C. Sports Arena, Cottingham, Hull, Yorkshire, England, U.K. Lost IBF featherweight title
66 Win 56–10 Victor Polo TD 9 (12),
3:00
Apr 16, 1999 28 years, 17 days Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Retained IBF featherweight title
65 Win 55–10 Héctor Lizárraga UD 12 Apr 24, 1998 27 years, 25 days San Jose Arena, San Jose, California, U.S. Won IBF featherweight title
64 Win 54–10 Jose Ayala TKO 8 (12) Oct 18, 1997 26 years, 202 days Curt Ivy PAL Gym, Homestead, Florida, U.S. Won WBA Fedecentro featherweight title
63 Loss 53–10 Derrick Gainer KO 9 (12),
1:20
Aug 7, 1997 26 years, 130 days Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. For NABU super featherweight title
62 Loss 53–9 Luisito Espinosa TD 8 (12) May 17, 1997 26 years, 48 days Luneta Park, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines For WBC featherweight title
61 Win 53–8 Rosario Hernandez KO 1 (?) Dec 16, 1996 25 years, 261 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
60 Loss 52–8 Naseem Hamed TKO 11 (12),
3:00
Aug 31, 1996 25 years, 154 days The Point, Dublin, Ireland For WBO featherweight title
59 Win 52–7 Benito Rodriguez UD 10 Apr 12, 1996 25 years, 13 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
58 Loss 51–7 Luisito Espinosa UD 12 Dec 11, 1995 24 years, 256 days Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Lost WBC featherweight title
57 Win 51–6 Alejandro González SD 12 Sep 23, 1995 24 years, 177 days Convention Center, Sacramento, California, U.S. Won WBC featherweight title
56 Win 50–6 Juan Polo Perez UD 12 Apr 15, 1995 24 years, 16 days Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S. Won vacant WBC FECARBOX featherweight title
55 Loss 49–6 Tom Johnson UD 12 Jan 28, 1995 23 years, 304 days Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. For IBF featherweight title
54 Win 49–5 Jose Luis Martinez UD 12 Sep 26, 1994 23 years, 180 days Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Won vacant NABF featherweight title
53 Win 48–5 Lorenzo Tiznado TKO 2 (?) Jun 3, 1994 23 years, 65 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
52 Loss 47–5 John John Molina UD 12 Jun 26, 1993 22 years, 88 days Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. For IBF super featherweight title
51 Win 47–4 Francisco Valdez TKO 8 (?) May 11, 1993 22 years, 42 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
50 Loss 46–4 Tom Johnson SD 12 Feb 26, 1993 21 years, 333 days Salle de Fetes, Melun, France Lost IBF featherweight title
49 Win 46–3 Moussa Sangare MD 12 Oct 23, 1992 21 years, 207 days La Salle du Sportica, Gravelines, France Retained IBF featherweight title
48 Win 45–3 Jorge Rodriguez UD 8 Sep 12, 1992 21 years, 166 days Patinoire de Toulouse, Blagnac, France
47 Win 44–3 Fabrizio Cappai RTD 10 (12) Jul 22, 1992 21 years, 114 days Palazzo Dello Sport, Capo d'Orlando, Sicilia, Italy Retained IBF featherweight title
46 Win 43–3 Fabrice Benichou SD 12 Mar 14, 1992 20 years, 350 days Espace Piscine, Antibes, France Retained IBF featherweight title
45 Win 42–3 Tom Johnson TD 9 (12) Nov 18, 1991 20 years, 233 days Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Retained IBF featherweight title
44 Win 41–3 Troy Dorsey UD 12 Aug 12, 1991 20 years, 135 days Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Won IBF featherweight title
43 Win 40–3 Agustin Salinas TKO 8 (?) May 30, 1991 20 years, 61 days Acapulco, Gurerro, Mexico
42 Win 39–3 Mario Gomez KO 5 (?) May 17, 1991 20 years, 48 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
41 Win 38–3 Edward Parker MD 10 Dec 6, 1990 19 years, 251 days Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California
40 Win 37–3 Bruno Rabanales UD 10 Sep 3, 1990 19 years, 157 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
39 Win 36–3 Steve Cruz UD 10 Jul 8, 1990 19 years, 100 days Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
38 Win 35–3 Tyrone Jackson UD 12 May 21, 1990 19 years, 52 days Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
37 Win 34–3 Ben Lopez TKO 8 (12) Mar 26, 1990 18 years, 361 days Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Retained WBA inter-continental super featherweight title
36 Win 33–3 Rafael Ortega TKO 8 (12),
2:25
Feb 16, 1990 18 years, 323 days International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Retained WBA inter-continental super featherweight title;
Not to be confused with Rafael Ortega
35 Win 32–3 Edgar Castro DQ 7 (12) Dec 11, 1989 18 years, 256 days Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Won WBA inter-continental super featherweight title
34 Win 31–3 Jose Mendez KO 3 (?) Nov 16, 1989 18 years, 231 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
33 Win 30–3 Juan Manuel Vega TKO 6 (?) Sep 16, 1989 18 years, 170 days Monumental Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
32 Loss 29–3 Juan Carlos Salazar TKO 10 (?) Jul 10, 1989 18 years, 102 days Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
31 Win 29–2 Ashby Dancy TKO 1 (?),
3:00
May 21, 1989 18 years, 52 days Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
30 Win 28–2 Ashby Dancy TKO 1 (?) May 21, 1989 18 years, 52 days Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
29 Win 27–2 Jose Luis Calderon TKO 3 (?) Apr 3, 1989 18 years, 4 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
28 Win 26–2 Miguel Molina KO 6 (?) Mar 11, 1989 17 years, 346 days Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
27 Win 25–2 Mariano Canete TKO 4 (?) Feb 20, 1989 17 years, 327 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
26 Win 24–2 Manuel Camacho TKO 4 (?) Dec 5, 1988 17 years, 250 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
25 Win 23–2 Ramiro Rodriguez UD 10 Oct 17, 1988 17 years, 201 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
24 Win 22–2 Santiago Parra KO 6 (?) Aug 22, 1988 17 years, 145 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
23 Win 21–2 Luis Mora UD 10 May 9, 1988 17 years, 40 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
22 Win 20–2 Marco Antonio Santos KO 3 (?) Feb 8, 1988 16 years, 315 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
21 Win 19–2 Julio Valle PTS 10 Oct 16, 1987 16 years, 200 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
20 Win 18–2 Jorge Aguilar KO 4 (?) Oct 5, 1987 16 years, 189 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
19 Win 17–2 Antonio Flores PTS 6 Aug 10, 1987 16 years, 133 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
18 Win 16–2 Martin Juarez UD 4 Jul 16, 1987 16 years, 108 days El Cortez Hotel, San Diego, California, U.S.
17 Win 15–2 Jorge Salas KO 4 (?) Jun 15, 1987 16 years, 77 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
16 Win 14–2 Chiqui Ruiz PTS 6 Mar 30, 1987 16 years, 0 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
15 Win 13–2 Jose Enriquez PTS 6 Feb 9, 1987 15 years, 316 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
14 Win 12–2 Jose Nunez PTS 6 Dec 6, 1986 15 years, 251 days Mexico
13 Win 11–2 Jaime Reyes PTS 6 Dec 1, 1986 15 years, 246 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
12 Win 10–2 Pablo Carrasco KO 3 (?) Sep 8, 1986 15 years, 162 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
11 Win 9–2 Oldemar Soto TKO 6 (?) Aug 8, 1986 15 years, 131 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
10 Win 8–2 Roberto Garcia KO 3 (?) Jul 19, 1986 15 years, 111 days Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
9 Win 7–2 Oldemar Soto PTS 4 May 9, 1986 15 years, 40 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
8 Win 6–2 Aquilino Ceballos KO 1 (?) Apr 25, 1986 15 years, 26 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
7 Win 5–2 Jose Venegas PTS 4 Apr 4, 1986 15 years, 5 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
6 Win 4–2 Jose Trujillo KO 2 (?) Mar 12, 1986 14 years, 347 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
5 Win 3–2 Victor Mendoza PTS 4 Feb 10, 1986 14 years, 317 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
4 Loss 2–2 Alex Madrid TKO 4 (5) Jan 16, 1986 14 years, 292 days El Cortez Hotel, San Diego, California, U.S.
3 Loss 2–1 Gerardo Martinez PTS 4 Dec 5, 1985 14 years, 250 days Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Roberto Garcia PTS 6 Nov 10, 1985 14 years, 225 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
1 Win 1–0 Daniel Flores PTS 4 Oct 9, 1985 14 years, 193 days Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Sky Sports tale of the tape prior to the Scott Harrison rematch.
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Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
New title WBA super featherweight champion
Inter-Continental title

December 11, 1989 – August 12, 1991
Won IBF featherweight title
Vacant
Title next held by
Tontcho Tontchev
Vacant
Title last held by
Victor Polo
WBC featherweight champion
FECARBOX title

April 15 – 23 September 1995
Won world title
Vacant
Title next held by
Damian Brazoban
World boxing titles
Preceded by IBF featherweight champion
August 12, 1991 – February 26, 1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by WBC featherweight champion
September 23, 1995 – December 11, 1995
Succeeded by
Preceded by IBF featherweight champion
April 24, 1998 – November 13, 1999
Succeeded by
Preceded by IBF featherweight champion
November 16, 2001 – April 27, 2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by WBO featherweight champion
July 12, 2003 – November 29, 2003
Succeeded by
Scott Harrison
Achievements
Previous:
Sugar Ray Robinson
Quintuple Champion in One Division
July 12, 2003
Most Recent