Born: Dec. 22, 1946
Died: March 14, 2017
Bouts: 73
Won: 63
Lost: 8
Drew: 2
KOs: 43
Induction: 2025
Born Rodrigo Valdes Hernandez on December 22, 1946 in Bolivar, Colombia. Valdez turned professional in 1963 to begin a steady march to the top of the middleweight division.
Fighting primarily in Colombia, he made his way stateside and boxed in Nevada and California before competing at Madison Square Garden in bouts with Pete Toro (L 10) and Bobby Cassidy (TKO 7) among others. In 1973 he beat Bennie Briscoe (W 12) for the NABF middleweight title and scored a 7th round TKO in the rematch for the vacant WBC title. Four defenses followed before dropping the belt to Carlos Monzon in 1976. He met Monzon in a title bout rematch (L 15) but following Monzon’s retirement he met Briscoe for the third time and won a 15-round decision for the WBA / WBC / The Ring 160-pound belts. He lost the championship to Hugo Corro and dropped a 15-round decision in the rematch before retiring in 1980 with a record of 63-8-2 (43 KOs) A true world champion, he boxed across the globe including Argentina, Monaco, France, Italy and Ecuador.
Revered in his native county, Valdez passed away at age 70 on March 14, 2017 after suffering a heart attack.
Rodrigo Valdez
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