José Nápoles

Nápoles c. 1973
Personal information
Nickname	Mantequilla ("Butter")
Nationality	Mexican
Born	José Ángel Nápoles (1940-04-13)April 13, 1940 Santiago de Cuba,Cuba
Died	August 16, 2019(2019-08-16) (aged 79) Mexico City,Mexico
Height	5 ft7+1⁄2 in (171 cm)
Weight	Featherweight Lightweight Welterweight Middleweight
Boxing career
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	88
Wins	81
Win by KO	54
Losses	7

José Ángel Nápoles (April 13, 1940 – August 16, 2019)^[1] was aCuban-born Mexicanprofessional boxer.^[2] He was a two-timeundisputedwelterweight champion, having held theWBA,WBC, andThe Ring welterweight titles between 1969 and 1975. He is frequently ranked as one of the greatest fighters of all time in that division and is a member of theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame.^[3] His record of themost wins in unified championship bouts in boxing history, shared withMuhammad Ali, was unbeaten for 40 years. After debuting professionally in Cuba, he fought out of Mexico and became a Mexican citizen.^[4]

Nápoles debuted as a professional boxer on August 2, 1958, in Cuba,knocking outJulio Rojas in the first round. Nápoles' first 21 bouts were in Cuba, against mostly unknown competition. He did beatÁngel García andLeslie Grant, but lost toHilton Smith (in his first defeat).

After beatingEnrique Carabeo in March 1961, Nápoles found himself a new challenge, outside of thering; Cuban presidentFidel Castro banned professional boxing in Cuba, and Nápoles soon found his career in jeopardy.

He found asylum in Mexico, where he soon found himself back inside the ring, beatingEnrique Camarena by aknockout in two rounds on July 21, 1962. He won all four of his fights that year.

In 1963, he won seven bouts and lost two. He was defeated byTony Perez andAlfredo Urbina, both by decision, but he beat JC Morgan, by knockout in seven rounds, inVenezuela.

1964 was a successful year for Nápoles. He travelled to Japan, where he beatTaketeru Yoshimoto by knockout in round one, and he beat future world championCarlos Morocho Hernández by knockout in round seven, this time back in Venezuela. In addition to those wins, he avenged his loss to Urbina by knocking him out twice, the first time in the first round and the second time in the third.

He won three more fights in 1965, including another win against Morgan, before seeing a raise in opposition quality when he faced the former world JuniorWelterweight championEddie Perkins, beating him by decision in ten rounds. For his next fight, he met his own future world title challenger, Adolph Pruitt, beating him by knockout in round three.

In 1966, he won five fights, all by knockout, and lost one, to arch-rival Morgan, who knocked him out in round four. This would be his last loss in four years.

Nápoles began a streak of 20 wins in a row, 13 of them before challenging for the world's welterweight title. These included avenging the loss to Morgan with a two-round knockout. During this period, Nápoles also became a fan favorite in southernCalifornia, and, after beatingFate Davis, on February 15, 1969, in Mexico, he was given an opportunity to win the world championship when he faced the then-current championCurtis Cokes inInglewood, on April 18. Nápoles beat Cokes by a knockout in round 13 to become world welterweight champion, and, as was becoming common place for him, he wore a sombrero after the fight. On June 29, he retained the title in a rematch with Cokes by a knockout in round 10 in his hometown ofMexico City, and on October 12, he outpointed former world championEmile Griffith in 15, also retaining the title.

Nápoles began the 1970s, by defeatingErnie "Indian Red" Lopez by a knockout in round 15 in front of an audience that included former world championSugar Ray Robinson on February 14, 1970. But after winning two non-title bouts, he suffered an upset when he was stopped due to being cut in four rounds byCarmen Basilio's nephewBilly Backus, who took the world's Welterweight title from Nápoles on December 3 atSyracuse.

After winning one more fight, he and Backus fought again, for the world welterweight title now in Backus' hands. This time, it was held inLos Angeles, and Nápoles recovered the world championship via an 8th round stoppage. After three non-title wins, including one overJean Josselin, he facedHedgemon Lewis on December 14, retaining the world title with a decision in 15 rounds, but Nápoles' training habits were suffering; he was alleged to be coming into the gym stinking of alcohol with an attitude towards his seconds.

In 1972, he retained the title knocking outRalph Charles in seven in England, and then, Pruitt resurfaced again, this time with the world Welterweight title on the line. Nápoles retained his crown by knockout in round two.

World traveller Nápoles began 1973 by retaining the title against Lopez again, by knockout in seven, then he visitedGrenoble, France, where he retained the crown with a 15-round decision overRoger Menetrey, andToronto, Ontario, Canada where he beatClyde Gray, once again retaining the world title with a 15-round decision.

After this, many boxing fans were asking for a fight between Nápoles and world middleweight championCarlos Monzón. The fight was made possible when Nápoles moved in weight to challenge Monzon for Monzon's title, so the two dueled on February 9, 1974, at a ring set up inside a circus tent that had been erected in theParis suburb ofPuteaux.^[5] This would be Nápoles' only bout at the middleweight division, as he was defeated by quitting the match, officially losing by a seventh-round technical knockout. He then went back to the welterweight division, and retained the title twice before the year ended, with a knockout in nine over Lewis, and with a knockout in three over Horacio Saldaño.

In 1975, Nápoles had two wins overArmando Muniz, both times to retain his world title. The first time, a technical decision win in 12 rounds atAcapulco was a controversial win, so a return match was fought in Los Angeles, where Nápoles prevailed by decision.

On December 6 of that year, however, Nápoles lost his title to British boxerJohn H. Stracey, who won over Nápoles by atechnical knockout in round six at Mexico City despite being floored by Nápoles in round one. After this fight, Nápoles announced his retirement. He was able to stay away from the temptation of a comeback.

Nápoles had a final record of 81 wins and 7 losses, with 54 wins by knockout, which makes him a member of the exclusive group of boxers that won 50 or more fights by knockout in their careers.

Napoles was the son of Pedro Napoles, a schoolteacher, and his wife Rosa. He had a brother, Pedro Napoles Jr. and nine children.^[6] He resided inCiudad Juárez,Chihuahua, Mexico, with his wife Bertha.^[7]

Napoles co-starred with superstarSanto in a 1974 Mexican wrestler/horror film calledSanto en la venganza de la llorona, akaSanto and Mantequilla Napoles in the Revenge of the Crying Woman.

Nápoles died on August 16, 2019, inMexico City, after a long-illness at the age of 79.^[8]

In 1985, Nápoles was inducted intoThe Ring boxing hall of fame, and in 1990 into theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame.

• NYSACwelterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)
• WBA welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)
• WBC welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)

• The Ring welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)

• Undisputed welterweight champion (2×)

• List of world welterweight boxing champions
• List of Mexican boxing world champions

• Boxing record for José Nápoles fromBoxRec(registration required)
• https://titlehistories.com/boxing/na/usa/ny/nysac-wl.html

• 1940 births
• 2019 deaths
• Boxers from Santiago de Cuba
• Cuban male boxers
• Mexican male boxers
• Cuban emigrants to Mexico
• Cuban people of African descent
• International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees
• Middleweight boxers
• World Boxing Association champions
• World Boxing Council champions
• The Ring (magazine) champions
• World welterweight boxing champions
• 20th-century Mexican sportsmen
• 20th-century Cuban sportsmen

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