Angel Espada

Ángel Luis “Cholo” Espada Mangual is a Puerto Rican former professional welterweight and WBA world champion. Born in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on 2 February 1948, he stood 5ft 9in and boxed from an orthodox stance. Espada completed 59 professional contests, winning 44, losing 11 and drawing four, with 27 victories inside the distance. His career extended from 1966 until 1981 and reached its peak during the middle of the 1970s, when he became Puerto Rico’s fourth world boxing champion.

Espada’s introduction to the professional game was difficult. He made his debut in San Juan on 20 August 1966, drawing over six rounds with Andres Matta. He then lost to Josue Marquez, who would later challenge Antonio Cervantes for a world title, and twice drew with Luis Vinales. Another defeat and a draw followed against Chris Fernandez, leaving Espada without a victory after six appearances. His first success came on 1 April 1968, when he knocked out Linfer Contreras in the opening round. It was an unpromising beginning, but Espada was learning against men who were prepared to test him rather than merely improve his record.

After losing a six-round decision to Jimmy Robertson in Los Angeles, Espada began to make substantial progress. A disqualification victory over Bobby Joe Hughes in April 1969 started a run of 15 successive wins. Espada developed into a strong, purposeful welterweight who could box behind the jab but was equally comfortable working at close quarters. He was not a reckless puncher, although he carried sufficient power to punish opponents once he had established his position. The winning sequence ended when Matt Donovan outpointed him over ten rounds in November 1970. Espada responded by defeating Manuel Gonzalez, a former challenger to Emile Griffith, before losing a decision to the accomplished former world champion Eddie Perkins.

His most productive climb began after a further setback against Dario Hidalgo in 1972. Espada won 12 successive contests between late 1972 and early 1975, boxing in Puerto Rico, the continental United States and Panama. He defeated Roscoe Bell twice, stopped Al Cook and Dave Oropeza, and outpointed Jack Tillman. In September 1973, he knocked out Prince Jimmy Hamm in the first round in Panama City to win the vacant WBA Fedelatin welterweight title. The most significant victory of this period came in July 1974, when Espada outpointed Armando Muñiz over ten rounds in San Juan. Muñiz was a rugged, highly regarded contender who would challenge repeatedly for the world championship, and the result established Espada as a serious figure in the division.

A points defeat by Luis Acosta in Caracas in March 1975 briefly interrupted his advance, but Espada reversed the result in San Juan the following month. His world-title opportunity followed in unusual circumstances. José Nápoles remained recognised by the WBC as welterweight champion but was stripped by the WBA after proceeding with a challenge to middleweight champion Carlos Monzón. Espada was matched with Canada’s Clyde Grey for the vacant WBA championship at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan on 28 June 1975. Grey was experienced, durable, and capable of maintaining a high work rate, but Espada controlled enough of the 15 rounds to earn a unanimous decision. The victory made him Puerto Rico’s fourth world champion. During the same week, Alfredo Escalera won the WBC junior-lightweight title in Japan, giving Puerto Rican boxing two new champions within days.

Espada made his first successful defence on 11 October 1975 against Johnny Gant, again at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. The challenger extended him through the full 15 rounds, but Espada retained the title by unanimous decision. A non-title stoppage of Alfonzo Hayman followed before Espada travelled to Mexicali to defend against the 18-year-old Mexican José “Pipino” Cuevas on 17 July 1976. Espada was 28, had never been stopped and appeared to possess far greater experience than a challenger who carried six defeats and had lost to Andy Price only weeks earlier. Cuevas, however, possessed exceptional punching force. A left hook dropped Espada in the second round, and the champion never recovered. He was knocked down three times before referee Larry Rozadilla stopped the contest, ending Espada’s reign after one year and one successful defence.

Espada rebuilt with three victories and received a return match with Cuevas in San Juan on 19 November 1977. The former champion gave a braver and more sustained performance than in Mexicali, but Cuevas’s power again proved decisive. Espada suffered a broken jaw and retired after the eleventh round. He returned with four consecutive knockout victories, earning a third challenge against Cuevas at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in December 1979. Espada was competitive enough for the judges to have the contest relatively close through nine rounds, but Cuevas stopped him in the tenth. Three meetings had therefore produced three stoppage defeats, although the second and third contests demonstrated far greater resistance than the abrupt loss of his championship.

Espada’s final important assignment came against the unbeaten Thomas Hearns at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on 2 March 1980. They met for the vacant USBA welterweight championship, but Espada faced a younger, unusually tall contender whose speed and straight punches posed severe difficulties. Hearns stopped him in the fourth round and went on to take the WBA championship from Cuevas five months later. Espada retired temporarily after the defeat, then returned for one last appearance on 10 December 1981. He knocked out Julio Alfonso in four rounds in San Juan, allowing him to leave the professional ring with a victory and a final record of 44–11–4.

Espada was a disciplined and capable welterweight rather than a spectacular one. He could box over the championship distance, had enough strength to stand his ground and was difficult to discourage. His career was defined partly by the three defeats to Cuevas, but it should not be reduced to them. Espada emerged from a poor start, defeated established contenders, won a regional championship and then outpointed Clyde Grey to claim the WBA world title. He also shared the ring with Eddie Perkins, Armando Muñiz and Thomas Hearns during an era rich in accomplished welterweights.

Away from boxing, Espada’s interest in music led him to establish the Cholo Espada salsa orchestra during the late 1970s. The group appeared regularly on Puerto Rican television during the closing years of his fighting career and into the early 1980s. After retiring, Espada remained involved in the sport as a trainer, passing on the experience accumulated during 15 years as a professional. His place in Puerto Rican boxing history rests securely on the night he defeated Clyde Grey, his WBA title reign, and the determined career that carried him from six winless opening contests to a recognised world championship.