Luis Estaba obit

Luis Estaba, former junior flyweight titleholder, dies at 86

 

He was not on the list.

Luis “Lumumba” Estaba, who reigned at 108lbs in the 1970s, has passed away at the age of 86, according to the World Boxing Association.

Estaba was born in August 1938 and turned pro in 1967 at 28 years old, fighting mostly in his native Venezuela and essentially learning on the job, suffering several defeats along the way. Those first seven losses turned out to be formative experiences.

In 1975, the junior flyweight division was newly resuscitated after decades in dormancy. The WBA and WBC, the two recognized major sanctioning bodies of this era, created world titles.

The WBC’s first titleholder at 108lbs was Franco Udella. But when Udella was stripped of the belt, Estaba met the debuting Rafael Lovera for the vacant title. Estaba, at 37 years old, won via fourth-round knockout in Caracas on that day in September 1975. He proceeded to reign for nearly two and a half years and made 11 successful title defenses.

Among them: a third-round knockout of Udella; an 11th-round TKO of the undefeated Rodolfo Rodriguez; a decision over Rafael Pedroza, who went on to capture a title at 115lbs; and Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh, who went on to win a belt at 108lbs.

Estaba’s reign ended in February 1978, when he lost via 14th-round TKO to Freddy Castillo. Castillo subsequently lost a split decision to Sor Vorasingh. And so in July 1978, with Estaba’s 40th birthday approaching, he faced Sor Vorasingh in a rematch in hopes of regaining the WBC belt. This time it wasn’t to be; Sor Vorasingh scored a fifth-round knockout.

According to BoxRec, Venezuelan law at the time required its boxers to retire once they turned 40. And so Estaba hung up his gloves with a record of 41-9-2 (27 KOs).