Betulio Gonzalez
| Betulio González | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Betulio Segundo González |
| Rated at | Flyweight |
| Nationality |
 Venezuelan
|
| Born |
October 24, 1949 Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Wins | 76 |
| Wins by KO | 48 |
| Losses | 12 |
| Draws | 3 |
| No contests | 0 |
Betulio Segundo González (born October 24, 1949) is a former boxer from Venezuela, who is considered a national hero in Venezuela. He is considered by many to be Venezuela's greatest world champion in boxing history. A combatant of 91 bouts, he fought until eleven months before he turned forty, the mandatory age for professional fighters to retire in Venezuela.
A native of Maracaibo, Zulia State he made his professional boxing debut on April 24, 1968, knocking out Elio Monzat in the third round at Gonzalez's hometown. Gonzalez won his first ten fights, including his Caracas debut, on November 25 of that same year, with a ten-round decision over Evencio Bruguillos.
On August 1, 1969, his winning streak came to a halt, when he was held to a ten-round draw (tie), by Juan José Brizuela in Caracas. He beat Brizuela by a ten-round decision in a September 16 rematch, then challenged Hector Criollo for the Venezuelan Flyweight title on October 10. He won his first belt by knocking out Criollo in seven rounds to win the regional title.
On March 6, 1970, he suffered a somewhat surprising defeat, at the hands of Felix Marquez, who had only one prior professional fight. He was knocked out by Marquez in six rounds. He followed this with a win over Nestor Jimenez and a loss to Ignacio Espinal; both Jimenez and Espinal would later go on to fight for world titles.
On April 1, 1971, he got his first world title try, in what also was his first fight abroad. Fighting Masao Ohba in Tokyo for the WBA world Flyweight title, he dropped a fifteen-round unanimous decision.
After three more wins, he had his second chance at a world title: on November 20, he faced former world champion Erbito Salavarria for the WBC's vacant world title. The fight resulted in a controversial fifteen round draw: The Zulia State boxing commission alleged that Salavarria had been given sugar or illegal drugs during the fight, and sent the WBC a bottle with which the sugar or drugs had supposedly been administered. The WBC wanted Gonzalez to be recognized as world champion, but Gonzalez declined.
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