The Most Famous

BOXERS from Argentina

This page contains a list of the greatest Argentinean Boxers. The pantheon dataset contains 496 Boxers, 14 of which were born in Argentina. This makes Argentina the birth place of the 7th most number of Boxers behind Italy, and Kazakhstan.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Argentinean Boxers of all time. This list of famous Argentinean Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Argentinean Boxers.

1. Carlos Monzón (1942 - 1995)

With an HPI of 61.21, Carlos Monzón is the most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages on wikipedia.

Carlos Roque Monzón (7 August 1942 – 8 January 1995), nicknamed Escopeta (Shotgun), was an Argentine professional boxer who held the undisputed world middleweight championship for 7 years. He successfully defended his title 14 times against 11 different fighters and is widely regarded as not only one of the best middleweights in history but also one of the greatest boxers of all time pound-for-pound. Known for his speed, punching power and relentless work rate, Monzon ended his career with a record of 87-3-9-1 with 59 knockouts; all of his losses were early in his career and were avenged. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, he was chosen by The Ring magazine in 2002 as the 11th greatest fighter of the last 80 years and voted him as the best middleweight title holder of the last 50 years in 2011. As of January 2018, Monzón holds the 2nd longest unified championship reign in middleweight history at 9 consecutive defenses. Monzón spent five and a half years in prison for killing his wife Alicia by throwing her off a balcony, and admitted that he had hit every single woman that he had dated. Argentinians adored Monzón throughout his career. His glamorous and violent life was avidly followed both by the media and Argentine people. He was, however, accused many times of domestic violence by his two wives and many mistresses, and of beating paparazzi. Charged with killing his second wife Alicia Muñiz in 1988, the former champion was sentenced to 11 years in jail. He died in a January 1995 car crash while on his way back to jail after receiving a weekend furlough.

2. Oscar Bonavena (1942 - 1976)

With an HPI of 54.82, Oscar Bonavena is the 2nd most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena (September 25, 1942 – May 22, 1976) was an Argentine heavyweight professional boxer with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his Beatles haircut, and enjoyed professional success in both Argentina and the United States. He is remembered for giving Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali hard fought bouts.

3. Pascual Pérez (1926 - 1977)

With an HPI of 50.36, Pascual Pérez is the 3rd most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Pascual Nicolás Pérez (May 4, 1926 – January 22, 1977) was an Argentine flyweight boxer. Pérez was born in Tupungato in the Mendoza Province of Argentina, he went on to make history by becoming Argentina's first world boxing champion. Pérez usually did poor at the ticket gates in Argentina after he became world champion, forcing him to defend his world title on the road many times and to become known as a world-traveling champion. His first international success was a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in United Kingdom. He and Delfo Cabrera were the only two Argentines to be an Olympic gold medalists in the London Olympics of 1948. Perez reigned as World Champion from 1954 to 1960. As an amateur he fought 125 bouts. Turning professional in 1952, he fought 92 fights (84 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw), in which he won 57 fights by knockout, a record that places him in an elite group of boxers who have won more than 50 fights by knockouts. He defended his title against nine contenders in a span of six years. He is considered one of the three greatest flyweight boxers in history alongside Miguel Canto and Jimmy Wilde. Along with Carlos Monzon, he is considered one of the best fighters ever to box. He has been inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In 2004, the American Boxing Confederation posthumously declared him the South American champion.

4. Santiago Lovell (1912 - 1966)

With an HPI of 48.84, Santiago Lovell is the 4th most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Santiago Alberto Lovell (23 April 1912 – 17 March 1966), known as Alberto Lovell, was an Argentine heavyweight boxer, who won the gold medal in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 1932. In his career as a professional boxer he had 88 fights winning 76 (55 by KO) losing 8 (2 by KO) with 3 draws, He won both the Argentine and South American championships.

5. Rafael Iglesias (1924 - 1999)

With an HPI of 48.64, Rafael Iglesias is the 5th most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Argentino Rafael Iglesias (25 May 1924 – 1 January 1999) was an Argentine heavyweight boxer. He won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England by knocking out Gunnar Nilsson in the final. Iglesias was knocked out himself in his only bout as a professional, in 1952.

6. Carmelo Robledo (1912 - 1982)

With an HPI of 48.10, Carmelo Robledo is the 6th most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Carmelo Ambrosio Robledo (July 13, 1912 – November 9, 1961) was an Argentine boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1932 Summer Olympics. In 1928 he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the bantamweight competition. Four years later he won the gold medal in the featherweight class after winning the final against Josef Schleinkofer of Germany.

7. Héctor Méndez (1897 - 1977)

With an HPI of 46.95, Héctor Méndez is the 7th most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Héctor Eugene Méndez (1 August 1897 – 13 December 1977) was an Argentine welterweight professional boxer who competed in the 1920s. He won a silver medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics, losing against Jean DeLarge in the final bout. Héctor was the flag bearer for his country at the opening ceremony of the 1928 Summer Olympics.

8. Oscar Casanovas (1914 - 1987)

With an HPI of 46.87, Oscar Casanovas is the 8th most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Oscar Casanovas (May 15, 1914 – 1987) was an Argentine boxer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

9. Víctor Avendaño (1907 - 1984)

With an HPI of 46.30, Víctor Avendaño is the 9th most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Víctor Ángel Pedro Avendaño (June 5, 1907, in Buenos Aires – July 1, 1984) was an Argentine boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1928 he won the gold medal in the light heavyweight class after winning the final against Ernst Pistulla.

10. Arturo Rodríguez (1907 - 1982)

With an HPI of 45.85, Arturo Rodríguez is the 10th most famous Argentinean Boxer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Arturo Jaime Rodríguez Jurado (nicknamed El Mono) (27 May 1907 – 22 November 1982) was an Argentine boxer and rugby union player. As a boxer, he competed at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1924, he lost his first fight against Thyge Petersen and was eliminated in the first round of the light heavyweight class. In 1928 Rodríguez Jurado won the gold medal, after beating Nils Ramm in the heavy weight category. This was the first gold medal won by Argentina in boxing. In rugby union, Rodríguez Jurado played for San Isidro Club, and was the Argentina national team captain. His sons, Arturo, Jaime and Marcelo, also had notable careers as rugby players, and were called up for the national team as their father had been in the 1920s. His nephew is Fernando Rodríguez.

People

Pantheon has 19 people classified as Argentinean boxers born between 1897 and 2000. Of these 19, 3 (15.79%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Argentinean boxers include Marcos Maidana, Daniel Sarmiento, and Mirco Cuello. The most famous deceased Argentinean boxers include Carlos Monzón, Oscar Bonavena, and Pascual Pérez. As of April 2024, 5 new Argentinean boxers have been added to Pantheon including Oscar Bonavena, Horacio Accavallo, and Guillermo Lovell.