The Most Famous
BOXERS from Colombia
Top 6
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Colombian Boxers of all time. This list of famous Colombian Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Rodrigo Valdez (1946 - 2017)
With an HPI of 47.59, Rodrigo Valdez is the most famous Colombian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.
Rodrigo Valdez (February 22, 1946 – March 15, 2017) was a Colombian professional boxer who competed from 1963 to 1980. He was a two time middleweight champion, having held the WBC title from 1974 to 1976 and the undisputed WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles from 1977 to 1978. His rivalry with Carlos Monzón has long been considered among the most legendary boxing rivalries. Valdez was trained by International Boxing Hall of Fame coach Gil Clancy. Many people consider him, Antonio Cervantes and Miguel "Happy" Lora to be the three greatest boxers ever to come from that country. He is 29th on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
2. Alfonso Pérez (b. 1949)
With an HPI of 41.05, Alfonso Pérez is the 2nd most famous Colombian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Alfonso Pérez (born 16 January 1949 in Cartagena) is a retired boxer from Colombia, who won the bronze medal in the men's lightweight division (– 60 kilograms) at the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1971 he won the silver medal at the Pan American Games. He turned professional on 6 April 1973, and retired in 1981 after 40 bouts (27 wins, 10 losses and 3 draws, 20 of those wins by way of knockout). Perez could fight as a lightweight or lose weight and compete as a featherweight, and he won by knockout in three rounds over the then-undefeated, future WBA world featherweight champion and hall of fame member Eusebio Pedroza. Perez was national champion in Colombia both as a featherweight and as a lightweight, and also the WBC's Caribbean area lightweight champion.
3. Clemente Rojas (b. 1952)
With an HPI of 37.74, Clemente Rojas is the 3rd most famous Colombian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Clemente Rojas (born September 1, 1952, in Cartagena) is a retired boxer from Colombia, who won the bronze medal in the men's featherweight division (– 57 kilograms) at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He turned pro on September 29, 1974, and retired in 1983, after 25 bouts (nine wins, thirteen losses and three draws).
4. Jorge Eliécer Julio (b. 1969)
With an HPI of 31.57, Jorge Eliécer Julio is the 4th most famous Colombian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Jorge Eliécer Julio Rocha (born April 4, 1969) is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a two-time bantamweight champion, having held the WBA title from 1992 to 1993 and the WBO title from 1998 to 2000. He won a bronze medal in the bantamweight division as an amateur at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
5. Cecilia Brækhus (b. 1981)
With an HPI of 28.55, Cecilia Brækhus is the 5th most famous Colombian Boxer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Cecilia Carmen Linda Brækhus (born 28 September, 1981) is a Norwegian professional boxer and former kickboxer. She reigned as the undisputed female welterweight boxing champion from 2014 to 2020, and is the first woman in any weight class to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles simultaneously. Brækhus is also one of only 11 boxers in history, male or female, to hold all four major world titles simultaneously. She also held the IBO title from 2016 to 2020, and is currently the interim WBC super welterweight champion. In 2017, the Boxing Writers Association of America named Brækhus their inaugural Female Fighter of the Year. Guinness World Records awarded her with three recognitions in 2018: the Longest Reigning Female Boxing Champion, the Longest Reign as a Four-Belt Undisputed Boxing Champion, and the Most Bouts Undefeated by a Female World Champion Boxer. Brækhus held the WBC and WBA titles for 11 years and 154 days between 14 March 2009 and 15 August 2020. As of December 2023, she is ranked as the world's best active female super welterweight by BoxRec and the fifth best active female junior middleweight by The Ring.
6. Yuberjen Martínez (b. 1991)
With an HPI of 25.74, Yuberjen Martínez is the 6th most famous Colombian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Yurberjen Herney Martínez Rivas (born 1 November 1991) is a Colombian boxer. He won a silver medal in the light flyweight division at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In June 2021, he qualified to represent Colombia at the 2020 Summer Olympics; he decided that that would be the last Olympiad of his career.
People
Pantheon has 6 people classified as Colombian boxers born between 1946 and 1991. Of these 6, 5 (83.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Colombian boxers include Alfonso Pérez, Clemente Rojas, and Jorge Eliécer Julio. The most famous deceased Colombian boxers include Rodrigo Valdez. As of April 2024, 3 new Colombian boxers have been added to Pantheon including Rodrigo Valdez, Alfonso Pérez, and Clemente Rojas.
Living Colombian Boxers
Go to all Rankings
Alfonso Pérez
1949 - Present
HPI: 41.05
Clemente Rojas
1952 - Present
HPI: 37.74
Jorge Eliécer Julio
1969 - Present
HPI: 31.57
Cecilia Brækhus
1981 - Present
HPI: 28.55
Yuberjen Martínez
1991 - Present
HPI: 25.74
Deceased Colombian Boxers
Go to all RankingsNewly Added Colombian Boxers (2024)
Go to all RankingsRodrigo Valdez
1946 - 2017
HPI: 47.59
Alfonso Pérez
1949 - Present
HPI: 41.05
Clemente Rojas
1952 - Present
HPI: 37.74
