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José Roman (boxer)

José "King" Roman (born December 17, 1946) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who was Puerto Rico's first world heavyweight championship challenger. He is known as "Joe King Roman."^[1] He holds notable victories over Manuel Ramos and ex-Light Heavyweight champion Vicente Rondon.

Pro career[edit]

In Roman's early career, he achieved mixed results. He defeated people like Jack O'Halloran and Chuck Wepner but lost to Jack Bodell. After the Bodell loss, Roman had a win-streak, defeating O'Halloran once again and besting Manuel Ramos. He lost to Robie Harris but put together a streak of wins before fighting George Foreman.

Foreman Fight[edit]

In late August 1973, he travelled to Tokyo, Japan, to challenge world Heavyweight champion George Foreman, losing by a knockout in the first round on September 1. Roman's corner protested that Foreman hit him while Roman was down, although no action was taken on this complaint. Photos exist that seem to corroborate Roman's corner's version of events.^[2]Even though he lost, he made history by becoming the first Puerto Rican to challenge for the world's Heavyweight championship. The only fellow Puerto Ricans to challenge for the heavyweight championship are Ossie Ocasio, Fres Oquendo and John Ruiz, who later became the first Latino to hold a version of the heavyweight championship.^[3]

Afterwards[edit]

Roman held a win over former WBA world Light Heavyweight champion Vicente Rondon just after the Foreman fight, his first win afterwards. In 1975 he lost to Mike Quarry and later in the year he began a series of losses. He lost seven times, notably losing to Jimmy Young. Roman was defeated by Boone Kirkman afterwards, in 1977, but never achieved a notable fight afterwards, having a mixed record.

Retirement[edit]

Roman retired in 1981 with a record of 54 wins, 27 losses and 4 draws, with 27 knockout wins. He used to work at a Sweetbay SupermarketinTampa, Florida. Ossie Ocasio and Fres Oquendo also challenged for the world's heavyweight championship, both are also from Puerto Rico. Ruiz was born in the USA of Puerto Rican ancestry.^[4]

Professional boxing record[edit]

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
87	Loss	54–27–4 (1)	Tony Severance	KO	5	March 19, 1981	Tampa, Florida
86	Loss	54–26–4 (1)	Alfio Righetti	KO	2	November 10, 1978	Milan, Lombardy
85	Loss	54–25–4 (1)	Glenn Morgan	TKO	7	August 10, 1978	Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida
82	Loss	54–24–4 (1)	Ibar Arrington	TKO	8	June 20, 1978	Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington
81	Win	54–23–4 (1)	George Jerome	TKO	8	May 23, 1978	Bellingham, Washington
80	Loss	53–23–4 (1)	Walter E. Moore, Jr.	UD	10	April 28, 1978	International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois
79	Draw	53–22–4 (1)	Levi Forte	PTS	10	March 17, 1978	War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
78	Loss	53–22–3 (1)	Bobby Lloyd	UD	15	January 19, 1978	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida	For Florida Heavyweight Title
77	Win	53–21–3 (1)	John L Carter	UD	10	December 1, 1977	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
76	Win	52–21–3 (1)	George Jerome	TKO	9	October 1, 1977	Butte, Montana
75	Loss	51–21–3 (1)	Marlin Lewis	UD	12	September 8, 1977	Tampa, Florida
74	Draw	51–20–3 (1)	Marlin Lewis	PTS	10	August 5, 1977	Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida
73	Win	51–20–2 (1)	Terry Daniels	UD	10	May 25, 1977	Sports Arena, Anchorage, Alaska
72	Loss	50–20–2 (1)	Bobby Lloyd	PTS	15	May 7, 1977	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	For Florida Heavyweight Title
71	Loss	50–19–2 (1)	Boone Kirkman	UD	10	April 26, 1977	Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington
70	Win	50–18–2 (1)	Ernie Smith	TKO	4	March 23, 1977	Anchorage, Alaska
69	Win	49–18–2 (1)	Ibar Arrington	SD	10	February 15, 1977	Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington
68	Win	48–18–2 (1)	James Anthony	KO	5	February 2, 1977	Sports Arena, Anchorage, Alaska
67	Loss	47–18–2 (1)	Ibar Arrington	MD	10	October 12, 1976	Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington
66	Loss	47–17–2 (1)	Fred Houpe	TKO	10	June 15, 1976	Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
65	Loss	47–16–2 (1)	Randy Stephens	PTS	10	June 1, 1976	Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
64	Loss	47–15–2 (1)	Jimmy Young	PTS	10	February 20, 1976	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, Hato Rey
63	Loss	47–14–2 (1)	Mike Schutte	TKO	7	January 26, 1976	City Hall, Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal
62	Loss	47–13–2 (1)	Mike Schutte	PTS	10	November 29, 1975	Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng
61	Loss	47–12–2 (1)	John "Dino" Denis	UD	10	September 30, 1975	Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
60	Loss	47–11–2 (1)	Wendell Joseph	UD	10	August 29, 1975	Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands
59	Win	47–10–2 (1)	Walter White	SD	11	March 7, 1975	Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida
58	Loss	46–10–2 (1)	Mike Quarry	UD	10	January 3, 1975	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
57	Win	46–9–2 (1)	Earl Perrer	KO	6	October 10, 1974	Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands
56	NC	45–9–2 (1)	Eddie Owens	NC	9	August 12, 1974	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
55	Win	45–9–2	Vicente Rondon	TKO	2	June 6, 1974	Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida
54	Draw	44–9–2	Jose Manuel Urtain	PTS	8	March 1, 1974	Madrid, Community of Madrid
53	Loss	44–9–1	Pedro Agosto	PTS	12	December 17, 1973	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico	For Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
52	Loss	44–8–1	George Foreman	KO	1	September 1, 1973	Nihon Budokan, Tokyo	For WBC and WBA World Heavyweight Titles
51	Win	44–7–1	Clyde Brown	KO	3	June 28, 1973	Portland, Maine
50	Win	43–7–1	Terry Daniels	UD	10	November 21, 1972	Sahara Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada
49	Win	42–7–1	Tony Ventura	TKO	2	October 2, 1972	Estadio Sixto Escobar, San Juan, Puerto Rico
48	Win	41–7–1	Charley Polite	KO	1	July 14, 1972	Ponce, Puerto Rico
47	Win	40–7–1	Jose Manuel Urtain	UD	10	April 3, 1972	Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
46	Win	39–7–1	Brian O'Melia	PTS	10	February 14, 1972	Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
45	Loss	38–7–1	Robie Harris	SD	10	October 29, 1971	Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California
44	Win	37–6–1	Jose Rondon	PTS	10	May 1, 1971	San Juan, Puerto Rico
43	Win	36–6–1	Tommy Sheehan	KO	5	February 25, 1971	San Juan, Puerto Rico
42	Win	35–6–1	Jose Rondon	UD	10	February 1, 1971	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
41	Win	34–6–1	Manuel Ramos	PTS	10	October 26, 1970	San Juan, Puerto Rico
40	Win	33–6–1	Bill Hardney	KO	3	August 24, 1970	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
39	Win	32–6–1	Tommy Howard	KO	7	July 27, 1970	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
38	Win	31–6–1	Jack O'Halloran	PTS	10	May 25, 1970	Tampa, Florida
37	Win	30–6–1	Moses Harrell	KO	2	April 20, 1970	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
36	Win	29–6–1	Tommy Grant	TKO	1	April 7, 1970	Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
35	Win	28–6–1	Abe Brown	TKO	2	March 31, 1970	Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
34	Win	27–6–1	Tommy Howard	PTS	10	March 18, 1970	Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
33	Win	26–6–1	Mike Bruce	PTS	10	January 20, 1970	San Juan, Puerto Rico
32	Win	25–6–1	George Holden	TKO	4	December 4, 1969	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
31	Win	24–6–1	Charles Clark	KO	3	November 18, 1969	Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
30	Win	23–6–1	Abe Brown	KO	2	November 13, 1969	Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
29	Win	22–6–1	Bowie Adams	TKO	3	October 3, 1969	Estadio Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
28	Loss	21–6–1	Jack Bodell	PTS	10	July 14, 1969	Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire	49.25-49.75.
27	Win	21–5–1	Chuck Wepner	PTS	10	June 22, 1969	Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
26	Win	20–5–1	Al Banks	PTS	10	April 19, 1969	San Juan, Puerto Rico
25	Win	19–5–1	Jack O'Halloran	PTS	10	March 15, 1969	San Juan, Puerto Rico
24	Win	18–5–1	Al Singletary	KO	10	February 13, 1969	San Juan, Puerto Rico
23	Loss	17–5–1	Pedro Agosto	KO	12	November 19, 1968	San Juan, Puerto Rico
22	Loss	17–4–1	Charlie Harris	KO	8	May 20, 1968	Audubon Ballroom, New York City
21	Win	17–3–1	Al Singletary	PTS	10	April 15, 1968	Audubon Ballroom, New York City
20	Win	16–3–1	Charley Polite	UD	8	March 23, 1968	Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
19	Loss	15–3–1	Al Singletary	KO	7	October 2, 1967	Audubon Ballroom, New York City
18	Win	15–2–1	James J. Johnson	PTS	8	August 21, 1967	Audubon Ballroom, New York City
17	Draw	14–2–1	Moses Harrell	PTS	8	July 20, 1967	Portland Exposition Building, Portland, Maine
16	Loss	14–2	Herman Harris	TKO	10	June 5, 1967	Worcester, Massachusetts
15	Loss	14–1	Hal Carroll	SD	8	April 24, 1967	Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
14	Win	14–0	James J. Johnson	UD	8	March 27, 1967	Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
13	Win	13–0	Don Waldheim	SD	4	March 22, 1967	Madison Square Garden, New York City
12	Win	12–0	Al Brooks	UD	6	March 13, 1967	Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
11	Win	11–0	Billy Muse	PTS	6	March 2, 1967	Portland Exposition Building, Portland, Maine
10	Win	10–0	Tony Burwell	PTS	8	January 16, 1967	Worcester, Massachusetts
9	Win	9–0	Joe Webb	KO	2	January 9, 1967	Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
8	Win	8–0	Abe Walden	PTS	6	December 19, 1966	Worcester, Massachusetts
7	Win	7–0	Felix Viera	TKO	2	December 16, 1966	Madison Square Garden, New York City
6	Win	6–0	Abe Walden	TKO	5	October 24, 1966	Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
5	Win	5–0	Bill Haderman	KO	5	October 20, 1966	Portland Exposition Building, Portland, Maine
4	Win	4–0	George Ford	KO	2	October 17, 1966	Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
3	Win	3–0	Wayne Webb	KO	2 (6)	September 8, 1966	Portland, Maine
2	Win	2–0	John Hitts	KO	1 (4)	August 4, 1966	Portland Exposition Building, Portland, Maine
1	Win	1–0	Sam Sellers	PTS	4	June 20, 1966	Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Personal[edit]

He has a daughter, Selina, who is an artist.^[5] There is a mural in Tampa Bay that depicts him and dr. Ferdie Pacheco, a well-known television boxing pundit.

See also[edit]

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Sports in Puerto Rico
• Boxing in Puerto Rico

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Boxing record for José Roman from BoxRec (registration required)