Mario Miranda Maraňon (born 15 May, 1960) is a Colombian former professional boxer and boxing trainer who is best known for his 1982 challenge for the WBC's world featherweight title. Set to face legendary Mexican, world champion Salvador Sanchez for the title, Miranda, who was the number one challenger ranked by the WBC, was in line to face the winner of a rematch fight between Sanchez and Puerto Rico's Juan Laporte, which was scheduled for September 15th of that year at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Due to Sanchez's unexpected death on August 12th of that year, however, Miranda fought Laporte for the vacant world title instead, losing the contest by technical knockout.[1]

Early life

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Miranda was born in the northern Colombian city of Barranquilla.[2]

Professional boxing career

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Miranda debuted as a professional boxer on Saturday, June 9, 1979 in Barranquilla, defeating Edelmiro Cassiani by a six-rounds decision.[3]

He set a torrid pace, winning his first nineteen contests, thirteen of them by knockout. All of those wins were in his native Colombia. Among those victories were his first knockout win, which took place during his second professional bout, against Jose Jimenez on June 28, 1979,[4] his first fight outside Barranquilla, a fourth-round knockout over Misael Sanchez in Maicao on February 1, 1980,[5] a win on October 30 of 1980 against Armando Perez that mad Miranda the Colombian national featherweight champion when he beat Perez by eleventh-round knockout at Barranqulla,[6] and victories over former world title challengers Ruben Valdes,[7], Jose Cervantes,[8] and Juan Malvares for the WBC continental Americas' featherweight championship,[9] as well as a win over former WBC world super bantamweight champion Rigoberto Riasco in a defense of the latter title,[10] and one over future world champion Marcos Villasana of Mexico.[11] These victories helped him get set as the WBC's number one challenger and he was apparently going to challenge Salvador Sanchez or, in the case Sanchez got beaten by his next challenger, Juan Laporte. But all that changed when Sanchez died in a cat accident on August 12, 1982 in Mexico, and Miranda was then set to substitute him and fight Laporte for the vacant WBC world title instead.

World title fight

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References

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