Rubén Darío Palacio | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rubén Darío Palacio Ceballos (1962-12-01)1 December 1962 La Sierra, Colombia |
| Died | 14 November 2003(2003-11-14) (aged 40) Medellín, Colombia |
| Other names | El Huracan ("The Hurricane") |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 58 |
| Wins | 45 |
| Wins by KO | 19 |
| Losses | 11 |
| Draws | 2 |
Ruben Darío "El Huracán" Palacio (1 December 1962 inPuerto Nare,Antioquia – 14 November 2003 inMedellín, Colombia) was aColombianboxer.
Palacio fought 11 years before surprisingly winning the WBO title in England with an eighth-roundtechnical knockout of British starColin McMillan after McMillan dislocated his shoulder on 26 September 1992.
Before that, Palacio had tried unsuccessfully to win a world title on 3 occasions and never gave up on his dream, even when he had very low points in his career (between 1984 and 1986, for example, he lost 4 out of 5 fights).
He was very much the underdog against the flashy 23-1 McMillan but Palacio had his night of glory that day in London.[1] Ironically, he returned to England to defend his title and then he was diagnosed with theHIV virus by theBritish Boxing Board of Control. Palacio had to relinquish the belt he had waited so long to win and retired with a 45-11-2 (19 KO) record.[2]
| 58 fights | 45 wins | 11 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 19 | 7 |
| By decision | 26 | 4 |
| Draws | 2 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | Win | 45–11–2 | Colin McMillan | TKO | 8 (12) | 1992-09-26 | Olympia, London, England, U.K. | WonWBO featherweight title |
| 57 | Win | 44–11–2 | Dionisio Blanco | TKO | 4 (10) | 1992-07-03 | Envigado, Colombia | |
| 56 | Win | 43–11–2 | Alberto Zuluaga | PTS | 10 (10) | 1992-04-11 | Bogotá, Colombia | |
| 55 | Loss | 42–11–2 | Mario Fuentes | TKO | 4 (10) | 1991-11-22 | Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, Mexico | |
| 54 | Win | 42–10–2 | Omar Gonzalez | TKO | 4 (12) | 1991-07-31 | Cartagena, Colombia | Won vacant Colombian super-featherweight title |
| 53 | Loss | 41–10–2 | Ever Beleno | PTS | 10 (10) | 1991-06-14 | Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 52 | Loss | 41–9–2 | Joon Huh | KO | 2 (10) | 1991-02-03 | Geumho Citizen Gymnasium, Yeongcheon, South Korea | |
| 51 | Win | 41–8–2 | Juan De la Cruz | TKO | 7 (10) | 1990-11-10 | Puerto Nare, Colombia | |
| 50 | Loss | 40–8–2 | Luis Mendoza | TKO | 3 (12) | 1990-09-11 | Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S. | For vacant WBA super-bantamweight title |
| 49 | Draw | 40–7–2 | Luis Mendoza | SD | 12 (12) | 1990-05-25 | Plaza de toros de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia | For vacantWBA super-bantamweight title |
| 48 | Win | 40–7–1 | Luis Navarro | KO | 2 (?) | 1990-02-17 | Apartadó, Colombia | |
| 47 | Win | 39–7–1 | Praphan Khamcha | UD | 10 (10) | 1989-11-18 | Samut Sakhon, Thailand | |
| 46 | Win | 38–7–1 | Deus James Pemberti | PTS | 8 (8) | 1989-07-15 | Barranquilla, Colombia | |
| 45 | Win | 37–7–1 | Angel Vargas | TKO | 4 (?) | 1989-04-29 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 44 | Win | 36–7–1 | Daniel Blanco | KO | 3 (?) | 1989-03-03 | Medellín, Colombia | |
| 43 | Win | 35–7–1 | Gustavo Espitia | KO | 3 (?) | 1989-01-28 | Apartadó, Colombia | |
| 42 | Win | 34–7–1 | Luis Berrio | KO | 4 (?) | 1988-12-16 | Barranquilla, Colombia | |
| 41 | Win | 33–7–1 | Juan Gomez Polo | PTS | 8 (8) | 1988-12-02 | Barranquilla, Colombia | |
| 40 | Win | 32–7–1 | Alvaro Narvaez | PTS | 12 (12) | 1988-10-07 | Bello, Colombia | |
| 39 | Win | 31–7–1 | Gustavo Espitia | KO | 1 (?) | 1988-09-10 | Colombia | |
| 38 | Win | 30–7–1 | Jaime Castellon | TD | 7 (12) | 1988-05-21 | Coliseo Vicente Díaz Romero, Bucaramanga, Colombia | |
| 37 | Win | 29–7–1 | Pedro Arroyo | MD | 10 (10) | 1988-03-30 | Holiday Beach Hotel, Willemstad, Curaçao | |
| 36 | Win | 28–7–1 | Manuel Mejia | TKO | 4 (12) | 1988-02-05 | Medellín, Colombia | |
| 35 | Win | 27–7–1 | Luis Mendieta | KO | 2 (?) | 1987-12-19 | Medellín, Colombia | |
| 34 | Win | 26–7–1 | Alvaro Bohorquez | PTS | 10 (10) | 1987-10-30 | Montería, Colombia | Won vacant Colombian featherweight title |
| 33 | Win | 25–7–1 | Eduardo Rodriguez | PTS | 8 (8) | 1987-08-25 | Laredo, Colombia | |
| 32 | Loss | 24–7–1 | Rafael Zuñiga | TKO | 2 (10) | 1987-05-25 | Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 31 | Win | 24–6–1 | Ley Umba Sengi | PTS | 8 (8) | 1986-10-10 | Palazzo Dello Sport, Cesena, Italy | |
| 30 | Win | 23–6–1 | Vicente Jorge | KO | 4 (?) | 1986-09-19 | Lerici, Italy | |
| 29 | Win | 22–6–1 | Faical Naifer | PTS | 8 (8) | 1986-07-04 | Porlezza, Italy | |
| 28 | Loss | 21–6–1 | Jim McDonnell | TKO | 7 (10) | 1986-05-07 | Royal Albert Hall, London, England, U.K. | |
| 27 | Loss | 21–5–1 | Valerio Nati | PTS | 10 (10) | 1985-10-12 | Palazzo Dello Sport, Cesena, Italy | |
| 26 | Loss | 21–4–1 | Kim Ji-won | UD | 15 (15) | 1985-03-30 | Suwon Gymnasium, Suwon, South Korea | ForIBF super-bantamweight title |
| 25 | Win | 21–3–1 | José Cervantes | KO | 8 (10) | 1984-12-14 | Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 24 | Loss | 20–3–1 | Tommy Valoy | KO | 11 (12) | 1984-09-03 | Sentro Deportivo Korsou, Willemstad, Curaçao | For vacant WBC Continental Americas super-bantamweight title |
| 23 | Win | 20–2–1 | Jefferson Gomez | PTS | 10 (10) | 1984-06-29 | Buenaventura, Colombia | Won vacant Colombian super-bantamweight title |
| 22 | Win | 19–2–1 | Hilario Diaz | PTS | 10 (10) | 1984-05-24 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 21 | Win | 18–2–1 | Mario Livingston | PTS | 10 (10) | 1984-05-11 | San Andrés, Colombia | |
| 20 | Win | 17–2–1 | Bernardino Rubio | PTS | 8 (8) | 1984-02-12 | Medellín, Colombia | |
| 19 | Draw | 16–2–1 | Pedro Barrera | PTS | 10 (10) | 1983-12-23 | Barranquilla, Colombia | |
| 18 | Win | 16–2 | Antonio Nisperuza | PTS | 10 (10) | 1983-10-05 | Turbo, Colombia | |
| 17 | Loss | 15–2 | José Cervantes | KO | 4 (?) | 1983-07-15 | Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Carlos Garcia | KO | 6 (10) | 1983-06-06 | Colombia | |
| 15 | Loss | 14–1 | Miguel Lora | PTS | 12 (12) | 1983-05-12 | Montería, Colombia | For vacantWBC Continental Americas bantamweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Daniel Martinez | KO | 2 (?) | 1983-03-26 | Plaza de toros de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Henry Diaz | KO | 4 (?) | 1983-03-06 | Colombia | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Miguel Maturana | TKO | 10 (10) | 1982-12-18 | Plaza Monumental, Cartagena, Colombia | Retained Colombian bantamweight title |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Homer Meza | PTS | 12 (12) | 1982-10-30 | Medellín, Colombia | Won Colombian bantamweight title |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Wilson Salgado | KO | 2 (?) | 1982-06-15 | Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Francisco Alvarez | PTS | 10 (10) | 1982-04-17 | Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Jose Rodriguez | PTS | 10 (10) | 1982-03-05 | Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Valerio Zea | PTS | 10 (10) | 1981-12-15 | San Onofre, Colombia | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Pedro Rengifo | PTS | 10 (10) | 1981-09-18 | Colombia | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Rafael Correa | PTS | 8 (8) | 1981-08-09 | Colombia | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Antonio Galviz | PTS | 8 (8) | 1981-07-17 | Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Colombia | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Hector Franklin | PTS | 6 (6) | 1981-06-21 | Colombia | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Alexis Klinger | PTS | 6 (6) | 1981-05-05 | Colombia | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Juan Mercado | PTS | 6 (6) | 1981-04-27 | Colombia |
After relinquishing the belt, the former champion's life was a tragic downward spiral. He was arrested ondrug trafficking charges in the US a year after and spent four years in jail.[3]
Palacio died of AIDS in a hospital inMedellín, Colombia on 14 November 2003. He was a few weeks short of his 41st birthday.
| Sporting positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional boxing titles | ||||
| Preceded by Homer Meza | Colombian bantamweight champion 30 October 1982 – 1983 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Francisco Álvarez | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Franklin Salas | Colombian super-bantamweight champion 29 June 1984 – 1985 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Moises Fuentes Rocha | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Felipe Angulo | Colombian featherweight champion 30 October 1987 – 1989 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Rafael Zuñiga | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Wilfrido Rocha | Colombian super-featherweight champion 31 July 1991 – 1989 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Jimmy Garcia | ||
| World boxing titles | ||||
| Preceded by | WBO featherweight champion 26 September 1992 – 16 April 1993 Stripped | Vacant Title next held by Steve Robinson | ||