Juan Roldán

Juan Roldán
Born
Juan Domingo Roldán

(1957-03-06)March 6, 1957
Freyre, Córdoba, Argentina
DiedNovember 18, 2020(2020-11-18) (aged 63)
Other namesMartillo
Statistics
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights75
Wins67
Wins by KO47
Losses5
Draws2

Juan Domingo Roldán (6 March 1957 – 18 November 2020) was an Argentine professional boxer, best remembered for his strong showing in the early rounds of an undisputed world championship bout against Marvelous Marvin Hagler. After flooring Hagler in the opening seconds Roldan was able to further enjoy success against the dominant middleweight champion. Hagler significantly injured Roldán's eye with the thumb of his glove. Roldán fought on, but was unable to continue and suffered a technical knockout. He retired for a couple of years before coming back with a campaign that took him to another middleweight world title bout, this time with Thomas Hearns. In an exciting contest, Roldán shook Hearns early, but succumbed to a Hearns attack in the fourth. A final world middleweight title fight with Michael Nunn resulted in a loss by KO, following which Roldán ended his professional boxing career. Nicknamed Martillo (Hammer) Roldán often featured on Ring En Español magazine.

Career

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Roldán made his professional debut on December 8, 1978 in San Francisco, Argentina, defeating Jorge Servin via first-round knockout. His first four wins all came by first round knockouts. On May 11, 1979, Roldán went the distance for the first time when rival Hugo Obregón went ten rounds with him. Roldán won the fight on points. On September 21, 1979, he suffered the first defeat of his career to Juan Carlos Borgado, losing a ten-round decision.

Out of his next eighteen bouts, he won seventeen and drew (tied) once. He then challenged Jacinto Fernández on March 13, 1981, for the Argentine Middleweight title, winning a twelve-round decision. In his next fight, he beat José María Flores Burlón, a boxer who would later challenge Carlos De León for the world's Cruiserweight title. Roldán won six more fights and drew one before challenging José Maria's brother, Carlos Flores Burlón for the South American Middleweight title, on February 12, 1982. He won the title with a second-round knockout.

Before 1982 was over, he retained his Argentine Middleweight title with a first-round knockout of Marcos Perez, but losing on a disqualification in three rounds to Ricardo Arce. In an immediate rematch, Roldán put his Argentine title on the line and this time, he avenged his defeat to Arce with a second-round knockout win. After five more wins in a row, he fought Juan Carlos Peralta, with the fight resulting in a three-round no contest.

On May 27, 1983, Roldán made his international debut, with a 10-round decision over Teddy Mann in Rhode Island, United States. After retaining his Argentine title twice more, he was faced, on November 10, 1983, with one of the top rated Middleweights of the time, Frank 'The Animal' Fletcher, at the undercard of the high-profile, Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Durán world title fight in Las Vegas. Roldán dropped Fletcher twice on his way to a sixth-round knockout victory.

After this win, Roldán was ranked number 1 by the major boxing organizations, and he accordingly met Hagler for the undisputed world middleweight title on March 30, 1984. Seconds into round one, the quick starting Roldán became the first and only boxer to score an official knockdown against Hagler, who though not hurt was disconcerted. In round three, Hagler was credited with a knockdown which was also dubious, after Roldán had got his feet tangled with the ring's ropes. Roldán showed less recklessness than previously in this contest, and utilizing his innate hand speed and a style difficult for southpaws to defend against, he landed scoring punches for the next few rounds while pressing the action. Though not rocking Hagler, they were considered surprising by commentators in view of his skills and Roldán's crude technique. However, by the middle of the bout, Hagler was winning every exchange. After being floored in the tenth, a swollen and cut Roldán quit, giving Hagler a win by technical knockout. The October after this bruising loss, Roldán announced his retirement. His knockdown of Hagler signaled the beginning of a renowned champion's decline, but none of the diminished Hagler's subsequent opponents were able to duplicate Roldán's feat which remained unique.

In 1986, Roldán reconsidered his decision and made a comeback. He won thirteen bouts in a row, including one over James Kinchen, before he challenged for a world title again. On October 29, 1987, at Las Vegas, Thomas Hearns became the first boxer to win world titles in four different divisions when he beat Roldán in four rounds by knockout, but not before Roldán had Hearns in trouble in rounds three and four.

On September 16, 1988, Roldán beat former world Middleweight champion Hugo Corro via first-round knockout in Mar del Plata, securing a third world title shot, against Michael Nunn on November 4 of that year. Roldán lost what turned out to be his last fight, by a knockout in round eight. Roldán retired with a record of 67 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws and one no contest, 47 of his wins being by knockout.

Death

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Roldán died on November 18, 2020, from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina. He was 63.[1]

Professional boxing record

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67 Wins (47 knockouts, 20 decisions), 5 Losses (4 knockouts, 1 decision), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest [1]
Res. Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 31-0 United States Michael Nunn KO 8 04/11/1988 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. IBF Middleweight Title. Roldan knocked out at 2:28 of the eighth round.
Win 50-5-1 Argentina Hugo Pastor Corro KO 1 16/09/1988 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 20-11-5 Argentina Miguel Angel Maldonado KO 6 19/08/1988 Argentina San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina
Loss 44-2 United States Thomas Hearns KO 4 29/10/1987 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. WBC Middleweight Title. Roldan knocked out at 2:01 of the fourth round.
Win 13-8-1 Brazil Clarismundo Aparecido Silva KO 2 15/05/1987 Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
Win 37-2-2 United States James "The Heat" Kinchen TKO 9 06/04/1987 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:06 of the ninth round.
Win 16-7-1 Colombia Tomas Polo Ruiz KO 4 06/02/1987 Argentina Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Win 55-9 Argentina Carlos Maria del Valle Herrera KO 2 13/12/1986 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 22-2 United States JB Williamson PTS 10 18/10/1986 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 24-2-1 Paraguay Juan Carlos Gimenez PTS 10 13/09/1986 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 17-9-5 Argentina Miguel Angel Maldonado KO 2 29/08/1986 Argentina Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Win 26-33-2 United States Darryl Penn KO 3 01/08/1986 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 30-25-18 Argentina Eduardo Domingo Contreras PTS 10 19/06/1986 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina
Win 33-14-4 Argentina Jorge Juan Salgado PTS 10 10/05/1986 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 29-8-4 Argentina Angel Antonio Caro KO 6 29/03/1986 Argentina Villa Angela, Argentina
Win 19-13-9 Argentina Juan Carlos "The King" Fernandez KO 2 14/02/1986 Argentina Ceres, Santa Fe, Argentina
Win 18-9-5 France Andre Mongelema PTS 8 14/07/1984 Monaco Monte Carlo, Monaco
Loss 58-2-2 United States Marvelous Marvin Hagler TKO 10 30/03/1984 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. IBF/WBC/WBA Middleweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 0:39 of the tenth round.
Win 17-3-1 United States Frank "The Animal" Fletcher KO 6 10/11/1983 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Fletcher knocked out at 2:58 of the sixth round.
Win 20-14-13 Argentina Eduardo Domingo Contreras PTS 10 16/09/1983 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 26-1-1 Argentina Roberto Justino Ruiz KO 8 06/08/1983 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina FAB Argentina Middleweight Title
Win 26-11 United States Teddy Mann UD 10 27/05/1983 United States Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Win 12-3-2 United States Wilbur Henderson KO 7 11/02/1983 United States Worcester, Massachusetts, Argentina
No Contest 75-18-12 Argentina Juan Carlos Peralta NC 3 14/01/1983 Argentina Trebol, Santa Fe, Argentina
Win 24-8-6 Argentina Jose Alberto Vega KO 2 10/12/1982 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina
Win 10-8-1 Guyana Reggie Ford KO 1 30/10/1982 Italy Sanremo, Italy Ford knocked out at 1:48 of the first round.
Win 75-16-12 Argentina Juan Carlos Peralta PTS 10 08/10/1982 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 52-6-4 Argentina Jacinto Horacio Fernandez KO 2 11/09/1982 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina FAB Argentina Middleweight Title
Win 29-42-8 Argentina Obdulio Rogelio Zarza RTD 6 13/08/1982 Argentina Corrientes, Argentina
Win 25-5-6 Argentina Ricardo Arce KO 2 10/07/1982 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina FAB Argentina Middleweight Title
Loss 24-5-6 Argentina Ricardo Arce DQ 3 08/05/1982 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 1-10-1 Argentina Marcos Perez KO 1 16/04/1982 Argentina Corrientes, Argentina FAB Argentina Middleweight Title
Win 15-8 United States "Sugar" Ray Phillips KO 1 06/03/1982 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 24-9-10 Uruguay Carlos Flores Burlon KO 2 12/02/1982 Argentina Pergamino, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina South American Middleweight Title
Win 73-14-12 Argentina Juan Carlos Peralta PTS 10 22/01/1982 Argentina Morteros, Argentina
Draw 46-6-2 Argentina Jacinto Horacio Fernandez PTS 10 10/10/1981 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 13-6-7 Argentina Julio Cesar Arancibia KO 2 11/09/1981 Argentina San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina
Win 13-16-3 Chile Ricardo Molina Ortiz KO 5 24/07/1981 Argentina San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina
Win 23-5-6 Argentina Jose Alberto Vega KO 1 10/07/1981 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 29-38-7 Argentina Obdulio Rogelio Zarza PTS 10 26/06/1981 Argentina San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina
Win 47-5-5 Argentina Jose Maria Flores Burlon TKO 3 13/06/1981 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 43-5-2 Argentina Jacinto Horacio Fernandez PTS 12 13/03/1981 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina FAB Argentina Middleweight Title
Win 0-1 Manuel Navarro KO 6 13/02/1981 Argentina Mar del Plata, Argentina
Win 1-7-1 Argentina Marcos Perez PTS 10 16/01/1981 Argentina Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina
Draw 70-14-11 Argentina Juan Carlos Peralta PTS 12 19/12/1980 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina Cordoba Middleweight Title
Win 22-9-2 Argentina Jose Luis Duran KO 6 05/12/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 12-6-3 Argentina Enrique Coronel KO 7 21/11/1980 Argentina Salta, Argentina
Win 5-15-1 Argentina Ramon Perez PTS 12 07/11/1980 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina
Win 13-14-3 Chile Ricardo Molina Ortiz PTS 10 03/10/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 6-10-5 Argentina Roberto Antonio Marziali KO 1 22/08/1980 Argentina Las Varillas, Cordoba, Argentina Cordoba Middleweight Title
Win 24-0-1 Argentina Obdulio Rogelio Zarza PTS 10 08/07/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 23-0-1 Argentina Aldo Carmona KO 3 27/06/1980 Argentina Salta, Argentina
Win 22-0-1 Argentina Jorge Juan Salgado KO 7 06/06/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 21-0-1 Chile Ricardo Molina Ortiz PTS 10 16/05/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 20-0-1 Argentina Ramon Perez KO 8 11/04/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 19-0-1 Argentina Alfredo B Cruz KO 7 15/03/1980 Argentina Buenos Aire, Argentina
Win 18-0-1 Argentina Marcos Perez KO 6 22/02/1980 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina
Win 17-0-1 Argentina Juan Carlos Bogado PTS 10 08/02/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 16-0-1 Argentina Roberto Troilo Ortiz KO 2 18/01/1980 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 15-0-1 Argentina Alfredo B Cruz RTD 8 22/12/1979 Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina
Loss 14-0-1 Argentina Juan Carlos Bogado RTD 8 21/09/1979 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina
Win 14-0-0 Argentina Natalio O Ibarra TKO 4 07/09/1979 Argentina Freyre, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 13-0-0 Argentina Alberto R Cardozo KO 3 24/08/1979 Argentina Morteros, Argentina
Win 12-0-0 Argentina Ramon Perez PTS 12 10/08/1979 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 11-0-0 Argentina Alberto Juan Almiron RTD 5 20/07/1979 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina
Win 10-0-0 Argentina Oscar "The Grouch" Perez KO 2 29/06/1979 Argentina Rafaela, Argentina
Win 9-0-0 Argentina Hugo D Estefano Obregon RTD 11 08/06/1979 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina Cordoba Middleweight Title
Win 8-0-0 Argentina Natalio O Ibarra PTS 10 24/05/1979 Argentina Brickman, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 7-0-0 Argentina Hugo D Estefano Obregon PTS 10 11/05/1979 Argentina Cordoba, Argentina
Win 6-0-0 Argentina Oscar Francisco Lopez KO 4 20/04/1979 Argentina Sunchales, Santa Fe, Argentina
Win 5-0-0 Argentina Luis Carcacha RTD 3 06/04/1979 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 4-0-0 Argentina Irineo Claudio Cabrera KO 1 23/03/1979 Argentina Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina
Win 3-0-0 Argentina Luis Alberto Gutierrez KO 1 09/02/1979 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 2-0 Argentina Juan Carlos Hauscarriaga KO 1 26/01/1979 Argentina Las Varillas, Cordoba, Argentina
Win 1-0 Paraguay Jorge Servin KO 1 08/12/1978 Argentina San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina

References

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  1. ^ "Falleció por coronavirus Martillo Roldán, leyenda del boxeo argentino". Diario Panorama (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2020.
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