Rene Arredondo

Luis René Arredondo Garibay, a Mexican super-lightweight and later welterweight and light-middleweight, was a two-time World Boxing Council champion whose career rested upon formidable punching power and a willingness to travel. Born in Apatzingán, Michoacán, on June 15, 1961, he fought from an orthodox stance and stood 5ft 11in, unusually tall for a boxer who made his name at 10 stone. He completed 58 professional contests between 1979 and 1997, winning 46, losing 12. Forty of his victories came inside the distance, an exceptionally high proportion which defined both his reputation and his approach. Arredondo was a two-time WBC junior-welterweight champion.

Boxing ran strongly through the Arredondo family. René was the younger brother of Ricardo Arredondo, the accomplished WBC super-featherweight champion of the early 1970s, while another brother, Roberto, boxed in Japan under the name Chiba Arredondo. René turned professional on November 15, 1979, reportedly stopping “La Zorrita” Gómez in the first round at the Arena Coliseo in Mexico City. He spent the first part of his career fighting mainly in Mexico before establishing himself in the United States in 1983. His progress was rapid because he could end a contest without requiring extended preparation. His long arms, straight right hand and heavy hooks made him dangerous at middle distance, although his attacking instincts could also leave him exposed when confronted by another forceful puncher.

By May 1985, Arredondo had advanced into the leading WBC positions. At the Los Angeles Sports Arena, he met Hugo Hernández, an unbeaten Argentine contender ranked No. 2 by the governing body. Arredondo, then ranked third, knocked him out in the fourth round after flooring him at 1:51. The victory raised his record to 35 wins against one defeat, with 31 knockouts, and established him as more than a protected puncher. Hernández had entered with 37 victories, no defeats and two draws and was himself recognised as a dangerous finisher. Arredondo’s success against him secured the opportunity that followed.

On May 5, 1986, Arredondo challenged Lonnie “Lightning” Smith for the WBC super-lightweight championship at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Smith was making the first defence of the title he had won from the unbeaten Billy Costello. The contest had been postponed repeatedly, but Arredondo showed no sign of distraction. For four rounds, Smith’s movement and awkwardness prevented the challenger from producing the expected force. In the fifth, Arredondo finally brought his power into the contest and stopped the champion, becoming Mexico’s latest world title-holder at the age of 24. Contemporary reports noted that 33 of his 35 victories had come by knockout, placing his finishing percentage among the most striking of the period.

His first championship reign lasted less than three months. Arredondo travelled to Tokyo to defend against Tsuyoshi Hamada on July 24, 1986 and was knocked out in the opening round. It was a sudden and damaging reversal, but not the end of his championship career. Almost exactly a year later, on July 22, 1987, he returned to Tokyo for the rematch. This time, he boxed with considerably greater discipline, using his height and reach before forcing the stoppage 43 seconds into the sixth round. Arredondo was ahead on all three official scorecards after five rounds: 49–47, 49–46 and 48–47. Regaining a world championship in the country where he had lost it so emphatically was the finest achievement of his career.

The second reign was also brief. On November 12, 1987, Arredondo defended against Roger Mayweather in Los Angeles. Mayweather, a former WBA super-featherweight champion moving through the higher divisions, possessed speed, precision and a sharp right hand. He stopped Arredondo in the sixth round and took the WBC title. Arredondo’s vulnerability was again apparent when an opponent could match his punching authority while beating him to the target. He remained a fearsome attacker, but he was not a boxer built to preserve narrow advantages or neutralise danger for long periods. His championship record consisted of four contests: two title-winning stoppages and two stoppage defeats in his opening defences.

Arredondo continued for nearly another decade, moving through welterweight and eventually light-middleweight. His later career was more uneven, as is often the case with a puncher whose best years were spent making a lighter limit. He nevertheless remained capable of important victories. In August 1995, at Tijuana, he stopped Jeff Leggett in the tenth round to win the North American Boxing Organisation light-middleweight title. By then, he was 34 and operating well above the division in which he had twice ruled the world. His final years included contests against younger fighters as well as a meeting with former WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino, who had returned after a lengthy retirement. Palomino stopped Arredondo in the first round at the Hollywood Palladium on June 8, 1997. That became Arredondo’s final professional appearance.

Arredondo retired with 46 victories, 12 defeats and 40 knockouts from 58 bouts. The figures accurately describe him. He was not a champion noted for lengthy reigns or repeated defences, but he twice reached the summit of a strong super-lightweight division, stopping the reigning champion on each occasion. His defeat of Lonnie Smith established him, while the return victory over Hamada demonstrated resilience after one of the most abrupt championship defeats possible. His place in Mexican boxing history is also strengthened by his family connection with Ricardo Arredondo, making them brothers who both held WBC world championships.

After retiring from boxing, Arredondo remained in Los Angeles and continued working in boxing gyms. He developed a personal training business and was married with two adult children. Arredondo’s enduring reputation is that of a tall, dangerous and sometimes vulnerable puncher who became world champion twice, recovered from a first-round knockout to reclaim his title abroad, and remained a professional boxer for more than 17 years.