Name: ALFREDO URBINA
Born: 22 APRIL 1936 San Juan Bautista lo de Soto, Mexico
Died: 29 November 2002 Ciudad Azteca DF Mexico
Career: 1957 to 1969
Record: 84 fights , 59 wins (31 by KO/TKO), 21 losses (3 by KO/TKO), 4 draws.
Division: Lightweight
Stance: Orthodox
Titles: Mexican lightweight
Major Contests
SCORED WINS OVER: Sylvestre Villareal, Gil Cadilli, Baby Vasquez (three times ), Bobby Scanlon, Al Nevarez, Eddie Perkins **, Laura Salas**, Mauro Vazquez, Paul Armstead, Angel Robinson Garcia, Bert Somodio, Solomon Boysaw (twice), Arthur Persley, Jose Napoles **,Joe Brown**, L C Morgan, Gene Gresham, Jose Luis Cruz. Chucho Garcia, Rogelio Reyes, Chango Carmona (twice)**, Jose Luis Vallejo, Jorge Ceja, Hugo Rambaldi,
LOST AGAINST: Douglas Vaillant*, Angel Robinson Garcia, Carlos Hernandez(three times)**, Len Matthews (twice), Manolo Alvarez, Sugar Ramos**, Baby Vasquez, Arthur Persley, Jose Napoles**(twice)**, Bunny Grant*, Raul Rodriguez, Arturo Lomeli(twice), Ismael Laguna **, Nicolino Locche (twice)**.
DREW WITH: Jimmy Hornsby, Sugar Ramos**, Carlos Hernandez**,
**Past/ future holder of a version of a world title
* Unsuccessful challenger for a version of a world title
Alfredo Urbina’s Story :
Initially Urbina wanted to be a masked professional wrestler like the great folk hero El Santos but he was considered too small and not strong enough so he turned to boxing.
It is difficult to find any information on the early years of Urbina. There is no trace of any amateur fights and yet it seems strange that after an eight round draw in his first fight on 15 February 1957 at the age of twenty he was fighting ten round fights in Mexico City in his second fight. By the end of 1957 he had a modest 5-1-1 record. A busy 1958 saw him win 9 of his 10 fights. He travelled to Monterrey to beat local hope 20-1 Silvestre Ramirez but lost in December against unbeaten future world lightweight title challenger Cuban Douglas Vaillant. He made a big breakthrough in 1959. He had his first fights in California in drawing with Jimmy Hornsby and beating Gil Cadilli but lost to Angel Robinson Garcia in Havana. In June he took a split decision over Baby Vasquez to win the Mexican lightweight title. The Mexican DF Commission did not like the decision so refused to award Urbina the title but they fought again six weeks later and this time Urbina halted Vazquez in the eighth round. He finished the year with a flourish beating Bobby Scanlon, Al Nevarez and future WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Eddie Perkins on an eighth round retirement. The only fight Perkins lost inside the distance in his 98 fights. He went 6-2 in his 8 fights in 1960 and most of those 8 fights were against top flight opposition. He scored wins over former lightweight champion Lauro Salas, 29-1 Mauro Vazquez and Paul Armstead but lost to future WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Carlos Hernandez and rated Lenny Matthews.
He had a bad year in 1961 as he continued to take on top level fighters. He gained revenge with a win over Angel Robinson Garcia and only lost a split decision against unbeaten 30-0-2 future Hall of Famer Sugar Ramos and three months later held Ramos to a draw. He then lost three in a row. Two at the end of 1961 against former opponents Len Matthews and Carlos Hernandez and the one that really hurt was a defeat in February 1962 by Baby Vazquez which cost him his Mexican title. He took some fights in Manila beating useful American Solomon Boysaw twice, and winning and losing against experienced Arthur Persley. He started 1963 with fights against two boxing greats. In April in Mexico City he beat Jose Napoles on points and in June outpointed Joe Brown. He continued to face the best knocking out LC Morgan, outpointing Gene Gresham being stopped twice by Napoles, losing to Bunny Grant , beating Baby Vazquez, losing to Raul Rodriguez, beating another future champion in Chango Carmona twice, losing on points to Ismael Laguna and twice in a month to Nicolino Locche.
He closed his career in 1969 a year in which he had 7 fights winning 6 including victories over Lovell Franklin, who had won 8 of his last 9 fights, Argentinian Hugo Rambaldi, who had lost only 11 of his 82 fights and being stopped by previous foe Carlos Hernandez in Venezuela. He ended the year with four wins in Mexico City and retired.
In twelve years he had taken part in 84 fights, 83 of them scheduled for 10 or 12 rounds adding up to a total of 709 rounds. He had been in the ring with eleven fighters who had or would win a world title but never got a title shot. Of his 21 losses only three came inside the distance and two of those were against Jose Napoles. He was a three-time Mexican champion, fought in eight different countries and there were few top flight lightweight in his era that he did not face.
He lacked the charisma of idols such as Rodolfo Casanova, Raúl Macías, José “Toluco” López and Rubén Olivares but was a solid, highly respected fighter. After boxing he went to work for an electric company and he and his wife raised five children. He died of natural causes in 2002.