Rigoberto Riasco (11 January 1953 – 29 August 2022) also known as "Little Poison", was a Panamanian professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1982. He was the Lineal and WBC Super bantamweight champion in 1976. Riasco defeated such men as Dong Kyun Yum, Leonel Hernández, Rafael Ortega, Waruinge Nakayama, Luis Ávila, Santos Luis Rivera, Seiji "Flipper" Uehara, and Sanjo Takemori.

Rigoberto Riasco
Born
Rigoberto Rodrigo Riasco Esquivel

(1953-01-11)11 January 1953
Panama City, Panama
Died29 August 2022(2022-08-29) (aged 69)
Panama City, Panama
Other namesEl Pequeño Veneno ("The Little Poison")
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Reach69 in (175 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights40
Wins26
Wins by KO13
Losses9
Draws4
No contests1

Professional boxing career

edit

Riasco made his professional debut on 25 August 1968 with a four-round draw with Carlos Mendoza and after winning the featherweight national championship, he fought Alexis Argüello, who defeated him with a second round technical knockout.[1]

After his defeat, he defeated previously unbeaten Luis Ávila and Puerto Rican Santos Luis Rivera, who had knocked him out in the first round in Puerto Rico. Those victories earned him the chance to fight for the newly created WBC championship belt.

On 3 April 1976, Riasco defeated Kenyan Waruinge Nakayama for the WBC and Lineal Super bantamweight titles.[2] He made two successful defenses against Livio Nolasco and Dong Kyun Yum before losing his belt in his third defense against Japanese Royal Kobayashi in Tokyo on October 9, 1976.

He announced his retirement in 1981, but returned later. After three consecutive defeats, Riasco officially announced his retirement in 1982. He left with a record of 29 wins with 13 KOs, 9 losses, and 4 draws.

Professional boxing record

edit
40 fights 26 wins 9 losses
By knockout 13 4
By decision 13 4
By disqualification 0 1
Draws 4
No contests 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
40 Loss 26–9–4 (1) Mário Miranda KO 4 (12) Mar 19, 1982 Plaza de Toros de Cartagena de Indias, Cartagena, Colombia For WBC Continental Americas featherweight title
39 Loss 26–8–4 (1) Carlos Núñez DQ 9 (10) Jan 16, 1982 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
38 Loss 26–7–4 (1) Il Yang PTS 10 Dec 19, 1981 Seoul, South Korea
37 Win 26–6–4 (1) Jose Santana PTS 10 Aug 15, 1981 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
36 Win 25–6–4 (1) Pascual Patterson MD 10 Jul 25, 1981 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama
35 Loss 24–6–4 (1) Kazuo Kobayashi KO 8 (15) Oct 9, 1976 Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan Lost WBC super-bantamweight title
34 Win 24–5–4 (1) Yum Dong-kyun SD 15 Aug 1, 1976 Busan Stadium, Busan, South Korea Retained WBC super-bantamweight title
Referee Rosadilla was reportedly assaulted after the bout,
and forced to reverse his decision to favor Yum
33 Win 23–5–4 (1) Livio Nolasco TKO 10 (15) Jun 12, 1976 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama Retained WBC super-bantamweight title
32 Win 22–5–4 (1) Waruinge Nakayama RTD 8 (15) Apr 3, 1976 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama Won inaugural WBC super-bantamweight title
31 Win 21–5–4 (1) Santos Luis Rivera TKO 7 (10) Nov 15, 1975 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
30 Win 20–5–4 (1) Luis Ávila UD 12 Aug 23, 1975 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama Retained Panamanian featherweight title
29 Loss 19–5–4 (1) Alexis Argüello TKO 2 (15) May 31, 1975 Estadio Flor de Cana, Granada, Nicaragua For WBA & vacant The Ring featherweight titles
28 Win 19–4–4 (1) Raul Silva TKO 10 (10) Mar 9, 1975 Gimnasio Orlando Winter, Panama City, Panama
27 Win 18–4–4 (1) Nestor Herrera TKO 1 (?) Feb 19, 1975 Caracas, Venezuela
26 Win 17–4–4 (1) Renan Marota UD 10 Jan 25, 1975 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
25 Win 16–4–4 (1) Flipper Uehara PTS 10 Oct 21, 1974 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
24 Draw 15–4–4 (1) Sanjo Takemori PTS 10 Jun 24, 1974 Japan
23 Win 15–4–3 (1) Jesus Estrada TKO 4 (10) May 11, 1974 Monterrey, Mexico
22 Win 14–4–3 (1) Kid Clay PTS 10 Mar 2, 1974 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
21 Win 13–4–3 (1) Rafael Ortega UD 12 Dec 15, 1973 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama Retained Panamanian featherweight title
20 Win 12–4–3 (1) Vicente Blanco TKO 6 (10) Sep 14, 1973 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama
19 Loss 11–4–3 (1) Santos Luis Rivera KO 1 (10) Aug 4, 1973 Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
18 Win 11–3–3 (1) Leonel Hernandez UD 10 Jun 2, 1973 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
17 Win 10–3–3 (1) Jose Angel Herrera SD 10 May 3, 1973 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
16 Win 9–3–3 (1) Miguel Espinosa PTS 10 Nov 18, 1972 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
15 Win 8–3–3 (1) Enrique Alonso KO 4 (12) Oct 28, 1972 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama Won vacant Panamanian featherweight title
14 Win 7–3–3 (1) Alberto Herrera TKO 5 (10) Aug 18, 1972 Guayaquil, Ecuador
13 Loss 6–3–3 (1) Enrique Alonso UD 10 Apr 29, 1972 Arena de Colon, Colón, Panama
12 Loss 6–2–3 (1) Jose Luis Meza UD 10 Jan 30, 1971 Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
11 Win 6–1–3 (1) Francisco Amaro TKO 6 (10) Nov 24, 1970 Jai Alai Frontón Palacio, Tijuana, Mexico
10 Loss 5–1–3 (1) Jorge Reyes PTS 10 Oct 10, 1970 Mexico City, Mexico
9 Win 5–0–3 (1) Humberto Arboleda TKO 3 (6) May 24, 1970 Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
8 Win 4–0–3 (1) Carlos Mendoza KO 6 (6) Dec 13, 1969 Arena de Colon, Colón, Panama
7 Draw 3–0–3 (1) Enrique Warren PTS 6 Oct 5, 1969 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama
6 NC 3–0–2 (1) Catalino Alvarado NC 4 (6) Aug 10, 1969 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama
5 Win 3–0–2 Manuel Jimenez UD 4 Mar 2, 1969 Estadio Juan Demóstenes Arosemena, Panama City, Panama
4 Draw 2–0–2 Manuel Jimenez PTS 4 Feb 9, 1969 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama
3 Win 2–0–1 Manuel Jimenez KO 1 (4) Dec 15, 1968 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama
2 Win 1–0–1 Santos Pena UD 4 Nov 30, 1968 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama
1 Draw 0–0–1 Carlos Mendoza PTS 4 Aug 25, 1968 Gimnasio Neco de la Guardia, Panama City, Panama

Death

edit

Riasco died on August 22, 2022, at the age of 69.[3][4]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Weekend Fights". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ^ "PANAMANIAN BOXER RIGOBERTO RIASCO BECOMES WORLD SUPER-BANTAM-WEIGHT CHAMPION..." Pathé News. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Former WBC champ Rigoberto Riasco passes". Fightnews. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  4. ^ "The WBC mourns the passing of former champion Rigoberto Riasco". World Boxing Council. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
edit
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Ernesto Marcel
Panamanian
featherweight champion

28 October 1972 – 3 April 1976
Won world title
Vacant
Title next held by
Jose Santana
World boxing titles
Inaugural champion WBC super-bantamweight champion
3 April 1976 – 9 October 1976
Succeeded by