Ruben Darío "El Huracán" Palacio (1 December 1962 in Puerto Nare, Antioquia – 14 November 2003 in Medellín, Colombia) was a Colombian boxer.

Rubén Darío Palacio
Born
Rubén Darío Palacio Ceballos

(1962-12-01)1 December 1962
La Sierra, Colombia
Died14 November 2003(2003-11-14) (aged 40)
Medellín, Colombia
Other namesEl Huracan ("The Hurricane")
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights58
Wins45
Wins by KO19
Losses11
Draws2

Professional career

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Palacio fought 11 years before surprisingly winning the WBO title in England with an eighth-round technical knockout of British star Colin McMillan after McMillan dislocated his shoulder on 26 September 1992.

Before that, Palacio had tried unsuccessfully to win a world title on 3 occasions and never gave up on his dream, even when he had very low points in his career (between 1984 and 1986, for example, he lost 4 out of 5 fights).

He was very much the underdog against the flashy 23-1 McMillan but Palacio had his night of glory that day in London.[1] Ironically, he returned to England to defend his title and then he was diagnosed with the HIV virus by the British Boxing Board of Control. Palacio had to relinquish the belt he had waited so long to win and retired with a 45-11-2 (19 KO) record.[2]

Professional boxing record

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58 fights 45 wins 11 losses
By knockout 19 7
By decision 26 4
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
58 Win 45–11–2 Colin McMillan TKO 8 (12) 1992-09-26 Olympia, London, England, U.K. Won WBO featherweight title
57 Win 44–11–2 Dionisio Blanco TKO 4 (10) 1992-07-03 Envigado, Colombia
56 Win 43–11–2 Alberto Zuluaga PTS 10 (10) 1992-04-11 Bogotá, Colombia
55 Loss 42–11–2 Mario Fuentes TKO 4 (10) 1991-11-22 Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, Mexico
54 Win 42–10–2 Omar Gonzalez TKO 4 (12) 1991-07-31 Cartagena, Colombia Won vacant Colombian super-featherweight title
53 Loss 41–10–2 Ever Beleno PTS 10 (10) 1991-06-14 Cartagena, Colombia
52 Loss 41–9–2 Joon Huh KO 2 (10) 1991-02-03 Geumho Citizen Gymnasium, Yeongcheon, South Korea
51 Win 41–8–2 Juan De la Cruz TKO 7 (10) 1990-11-10 Puerto Nare, Colombia
50 Loss 40–8–2 Luis Mendoza TKO 3 (12) 1990-09-11 Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S. For vacant WBA super-bantamweight title
49 Draw 40–7–2 Luis Mendoza SD 12 (12) 1990-05-25 Plaza de toros de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia For vacant WBA super-bantamweight title
48 Win 40–7–1 Luis Navarro KO 2 (?) 1990-02-17 Apartadó, Colombia
47 Win 39–7–1 Praphan Khamcha UD 10 (10) 1989-11-18 Samut Sakhon, Thailand
46 Win 38–7–1 Deus James Pemberti PTS 8 (8) 1989-07-15 Barranquilla, Colombia
45 Win 37–7–1 Angel Vargas TKO 4 (?) 1989-04-29 Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
44 Win 36–7–1 Daniel Blanco KO 3 (?) 1989-03-03 Medellín, Colombia
43 Win 35–7–1 Gustavo Espitia KO 3 (?) 1989-01-28 Apartadó, Colombia
42 Win 34–7–1 Luis Berrio KO 4 (?) 1988-12-16 Barranquilla, Colombia
41 Win 33–7–1 Juan Gomez Polo PTS 8 (8) 1988-12-02 Barranquilla, Colombia
40 Win 32–7–1 Alvaro Narvaez PTS 12 (12) 1988-10-07 Bello, Colombia
39 Win 31–7–1 Gustavo Espitia KO 1 (?) 1988-09-10 Colombia
38 Win 30–7–1 Jaime Castellon TD 7 (12) 1988-05-21 Coliseo Vicente Díaz Romero, Bucaramanga, Colombia
37 Win 29–7–1 Pedro Arroyo MD 10 (10) 1988-03-30 Holiday Beach Hotel, Willemstad, Curaçao
36 Win 28–7–1 Manuel Mejia TKO 4 (12) 1988-02-05 Medellín, Colombia
35 Win 27–7–1 Luis Mendieta KO 2 (?) 1987-12-19 Medellín, Colombia
34 Win 26–7–1 Alvaro Bohorquez PTS 10 (10) 1987-10-30 Montería, Colombia Won vacant Colombian featherweight title
33 Win 25–7–1 Eduardo Rodriguez PTS 8 (8) 1987-08-25 Laredo, Colombia
32 Loss 24–7–1 Rafael Zuñiga TKO 2 (10) 1987-05-25 Cartagena, Colombia
31 Win 24–6–1 Ley Umba Sengi PTS 8 (8) 1986-10-10 Palazzo Dello Sport, Cesena, Italy
30 Win 23–6–1 Vicente Jorge KO 4 (?) 1986-09-19 Lerici, Italy
29 Win 22–6–1 Faical Naifer PTS 8 (8) 1986-07-04 Porlezza, Italy
28 Loss 21–6–1 Jim McDonnell TKO 7 (10) 1986-05-07 Royal Albert Hall, London, England, U.K.
27 Loss 21–5–1 Valerio Nati PTS 10 (10) 1985-10-12 Palazzo Dello Sport, Cesena, Italy
26 Loss 21–4–1 Kim Ji-won UD 15 (15) 1985-03-30 Suwon Gymnasium, Suwon, South Korea For IBF super-bantamweight title
25 Win 21–3–1 José Cervantes KO 8 (10) 1984-12-14 Cartagena, Colombia
24 Loss 20–3–1 Tommy Valoy KO 11 (12) 1984-09-03 Sentro Deportivo Korsou, Willemstad, Curaçao For vacant WBC Continental Americas super-bantamweight title
23 Win 20–2–1 Jefferson Gomez PTS 10 (10) 1984-06-29 Buenaventura, Colombia Won vacant Colombian super-bantamweight title
22 Win 19–2–1 Hilario Diaz PTS 10 (10) 1984-05-24 Caracas, Venezuela
21 Win 18–2–1 Mario Livingston PTS 10 (10) 1984-05-11 San Andrés, Colombia
20 Win 17–2–1 Bernardino Rubio PTS 8 (8) 1984-02-12 Medellín, Colombia
19 Draw 16–2–1 Pedro Barrera PTS 10 (10) 1983-12-23 Barranquilla, Colombia
18 Win 16–2 Antonio Nisperuza PTS 10 (10) 1983-10-05 Turbo, Colombia
17 Loss 15–2 José Cervantes KO 4 (?) 1983-07-15 Cartagena, Colombia
16 Win 15–1 Carlos Garcia KO 6 (10) 1983-06-06 Colombia
15 Loss 14–1 Miguel Lora PTS 12 (12) 1983-05-12 Montería, Colombia For vacant WBC Continental Americas bantamweight title
14 Win 14–0 Daniel Martinez KO 2 (?) 1983-03-26 Plaza de toros de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia
13 Win 13–0 Henry Diaz KO 4 (?) 1983-03-06 Colombia
12 Win 12–0 Miguel Maturana TKO 10 (10) 1982-12-18 Plaza Monumental, Cartagena, Colombia Retained Colombian bantamweight title
11 Win 11–0 Homer Meza PTS 12 (12) 1982-10-30 Medellín, Colombia Won Colombian bantamweight title
10 Win 10–0 Wilson Salgado KO 2 (?) 1982-06-15 Cartagena, Colombia
9 Win 9–0 Francisco Alvarez PTS 10 (10) 1982-04-17 Cartagena, Colombia
8 Win 8–0 Jose Rodriguez PTS 10 (10) 1982-03-05 Cartagena, Colombia
7 Win 7–0 Valerio Zea PTS 10 (10) 1981-12-15 San Onofre, Colombia
6 Win 6–0 Pedro Rengifo PTS 10 (10) 1981-09-18 Colombia
5 Win 5–0 Rafael Correa PTS 8 (8) 1981-08-09 Colombia
4 Win 4–0 Antonio Galviz PTS 8 (8) 1981-07-17 Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Colombia
3 Win 3–0 Hector Franklin PTS 6 (6) 1981-06-21 Colombia
2 Win 2–0 Alexis Klinger PTS 6 (6) 1981-05-05 Colombia
1 Win 1–0 Juan Mercado PTS 6 (6) 1981-04-27 Colombia

Life after boxing

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After relinquishing the belt, the former champion's life was a tragic downward spiral. He was arrested on drug trafficking charges in the US a year after and spent four years in jail.[3]

Death

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Palacio died of AIDS in a hospital in Medellín, Colombia on 14 November 2003. He was a few weeks short of his 41st birthday.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "RESULTS PLUS". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Palacio Tests Positive for HIV". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Soccer stars arrested in game-fixing scandal". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
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Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by
Homer Meza
Colombian
bantamweight champion

30 October 1982 – 1983
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Francisco Álvarez
Vacant
Title last held by
Franklin Salas
Colombian
super-bantamweight champion

29 June 1984 – 1985
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Moises Fuentes Rocha
Vacant
Title last held by
Felipe Angulo
Colombian
featherweight champion

30 October 1987 – 1989
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Rafael Zuñiga
Vacant
Title last held by
Wilfrido Rocha
Colombian
super-featherweight champion

31 July 1991 – 1989
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Jimmy Garcia
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBO featherweight champion
26 September 1992 – 16 April 1993
Stripped
Vacant
Title next held by
Steve Robinson