Rolando Navarrete (born February 14, 1957) is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1991. He held the WBC super featherweight title from August 1981 and May 1982.

Fighting style A fine boxer, Navarrete was known for his hard-hitting punches. Categorized as a slugger and Filipino knockout artist.

Professional career He first fought for a world title in 1980 against Alexis Argüello but lost by TKO to the legendary champion. On August 29, 1981, he would win the WBC Super featherweight title by knocking out popular fellow southpaw Cornelius Boza-Edwards in the 5th round of a title match held in Italy. He later defended the title against unknown Choi Chung-Il of Korea, stopping the gritty challenger in the 11th round of a controversial bout held in Manila in January 1982. In his second title defense four months later in Las Vegas, Nevada, Navarrete took on Rafael "Bazooka" Limón. The champion led on all scorecards before getting knocked out by Limón in the 12th round. Thereafter, Navarrete's career went downhill and he would never again figure in big-money fights. In 1984, he was convicted of sexual assault and served three years in a Hawaii prison.

After his release in March 1988, Navarrete went back to the Philippines and embarked on several comeback fights. In one of those fights, he would exact revenge on his old tormentor Limón, winning by decision in a 10-round bout. During his comeback, he was cast alongside fellow boxer Rolando Bohol by comic book writer Carlo J. Caparas in his boxing film Kambal Na Kamao: Madugong Engkwentro, which was released in mid-1988. A series of losses against local fighters and unranked contenders later forced him to retire for good.

Personal life Navarrete currently lives in General Santos. A series of failed relationships with different women gave him a total of seven children. One of his sons, Rolando Jr., who fights under his mother's name Rolando Dy, is a professional mixed martial artist.

Troubles outside the ring left Navarrete with no money and the former world champion now sells fish that, according to him, earn him 800 pesos (about 16 dollars) a day. He still trains nowadays with a heavy bag in his home.

He spent three years in a United States prison for rape. Navarrete was also recently involved in various police complaints for wife battery and drugs.

On February 14, 2008, Navarrete, was pronounced out of danger, after being stabbed in the neck by Racman Saliling, a tenant at the boarding house he owns in Bula, General Santos, using an ice pick. Navarrete was also involved in two previous attacks: in 2005, he was hit with a steel pipe by a female neighbor and in 2006, a security guard clubbed his leg with a shotgun at a fishing port.

Legacy He is ranked the 9th best super featherweight champion in history, by the World Boxing Council. In 2007, Navarrete was included in "Kamao", an episode of award winning program Sine Totoo, which received the RP's first and only George Foster Peabody Award, the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

"Kamao", presented the sports of boxing and featured the story of the former world featherweight champion.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes74Loss56-15-3 William MagahinTKO6 (10)Jul 31, 1991 73Loss56-14-3 Bernabe AlipingUD10 Jun 8, 1991 72Loss56-13-3Tae Jin MoonTKO9 (10), Jul 20, 1990 71Win56-12-3Ayuthaya SithphakamronKO7 (10)May 18, 1990 70Loss55-12-3Ramon Marchena Jr.TD5 (12)Feb 17, 199069Loss55-11-3Tae Jin MoonKO6 (10)Oct 13, 1989 68Win55-10-3 Thongberm LukmatuleeKO3 (10)Jul 11, 1989 67Win54-10-3 Ken CarterTKO1 (10), Apr 22, 1989 66Win53-10-3Dawthong ChuvatanaTKO1 (10), Feb 18, 1989 65Win52-10-3 Rafael LimónUD10Dec 23, 1988 64Win51-10-3Jin-Shik ChoiTKO6 (10), Nov 5, 1988 63Win50-10-3 Bisenti SantosoTKO2 (10)Sep 16, 1988 62Win49-10-3 Muhammed JuhariUD10 Jul 22, 1988 61Win48-10-3 Elmer LeonardoTKO2 (10)May 6, 198860Loss47-10-3Mario MartinezTKO5 (10), Jun 23, 1984 59Win47-9-3 Dennis TalbotKO2 (10)Aug 12, 1983 58Win46-9-3Ignacio JimenezTKO6 (10), Jun 28, 1983 57Win45-9-3Saul MayrenTKO6 (10), Jan 28, 198356Win44-9-3Young-Se OhTKO8 (10)Sep 10, 1982 55Loss43-9-3 Rafael LimónKO12 (15), May 29, 198254Win43-8-3Choi Chung-ilKO11 (15), Jan 16, 1982 53Win42-8-3 Cornelius Boza-EdwardsKO5 (15), Aug 29, 198152Win41-8-3Blaine DicksonUD10 Jul 21, 1981 51Win40-8-3 Johnny SatoUD12 May 19, 198150Win39-8-3 Arturo LeonUD10 Apr 18, 1981 49Win38-8-3Refugio RojasUD10 Apr 7, 198148Loss37-8-3Hector CortezUD10 Mar 10, 198147Win37-7-3Rocky RamonTKO8 (10), Jan 20, 198146Loss36-7-3Alexis ArgüelloRTD4 (15), Apr 27, 198045Win36-6-3Jerome ArtisTKO7 (10), Apr 1, 1980 44Win35-6-3Frank AhumadaUD10 Jan 18, 1980 43Win34-6-3Abdul BeyTKO7 (10), Dec 18, 1979 42Win33-6-3 Blazer OkuboTKO3 (10), Oct 9, 1979 41Win32-6-3 Miguel MezaTKO7 (10), Aug 28, 197940Win31-6-3 Jose TorresUD10 Jul 24, 197939Win30-6-3Frankie DuarteUD10 Jun 19, 1979 38Draw29-6-3Thanomchit SukhothaiPTS10 Mar 18, 1979 37Win29-6-2 Rey TamKO4 (10)Feb 16, 1979 36Win28-6-2 Pete AlferezTKO2 (10)Jan 7, 1979 35Win27-6-2 Nene JunUD12 Sep 30, 1978 34Win26-6-2 Fernando CabanelaUD12Aug 19, 1978 33Win25-6-2 Nene JunMD10 Jul 15, 1978 32Win24-6-2 Tony Jumao-AsTKO4 (10)May 27, 1978 31Loss23-6-2 Johnny SatoTKO8 (10)Dec 31, 1977 30Loss23-5-2Thanomchit SukhothaiTKO9 (10)Sep 2, 1977 29Win23-4-2 Ric QuijanoPTS10Aug 12, 1977 28Loss22-4-2 Yung-Shik KimSD12 Jun 16, 197727Win22-3-2 Mario OdiasUD10 Jan 29, 1977 26Win21-3-2 Yung-Shik KimTKO7 (10)Nov 13, 1976 25Win20-3-2 Renato PaulinoKO4 (10)Sep 25, 1976 23Win19-3-2 Pol LadezaTKO1 (10)Aug 21, 1976 23Win18-3-2 San SacristanTKO7 (10)Jul 31, 1976 22Loss17-3-2 Paul FerreriPTS10 Jun 26, 1976 21Win17-2-2 Dommy MarolenaUD10 May 15, 1976 20Win16-2-2 Bernabe VillacampoTKO2 (10)Jan 31, 1976 19Loss15-2-2 Fernando CabanelaUD12 Oct 1, 1975 18Win15-1-2 Danny ReyesTKO6 (10)Aug 31, 1975 17Win14-1-2Go MifuneTKO2 (10)Aug 1, 1975 16Win13-1-2 Rey Naduma Jr.TKO3 (10)Jun 14, 1975 15Win12-1-2 San SacristanKO4 (10)Mar 14, 1975 14Win11-1-2 Conrado VasquezUD12 Feb 15, 1975 13Win10-1-2 Rene Cruz Jr.TKO7 (10)Jan 24, 1975 12Win9-1-2 Dodo QuilarioMD10 Nov 29, 1974 11Win8-1-2 Willie AbenirUD10 Oct 18, 1974 10Loss7-1-2 Roberto CincoMD10 Jul 20, 1974 9Draw7-0-2 Julius GonzagaPTS10 Jun 12, 1974 8Win7-0-1 Mar BelimacTKO6 (6)Dec 22, 1973 7Win6-0-1 Ernie SunTKO2 (8)Nov 24, 1973 6Draw5-0-1 Jimmie VeronguePTS8 Nov 10, 1973 5Win5-0 Cris EspinosaUD8 Oct 13, 1973 4Win4-0 Abdul MaratanUD6 Jun 23, 1973 3Win3-0 Cris EspinosaDQ? (6)Apr 14, 1973 2Win2-0 Quirino PeligroUD6Mar 24, 1973 1Win1-0 Eddie ClementosUD4 Feb 17, 1973

See also List of super-featherweight boxing champions

References

External links

Sunstar.com.ph, Navarette's life in 'Maalaala Mo Kaya'