Quick Facts
LibraBiography
José Luís Varela Bustamente (born September 27, 1978 in El Vigía, Mérida) is a Venezuelan professional boxer who has challenged four times for a world minimumweight championship: the WBO title in 2006, and both the WBA and IBF (twice) titles in 2008.
Amateur career
Varela represented Venezuela at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He was defeated in the round of 32 by Cuba's eventual bronze medalist Maikro Romero.
Professional career
Varela won his first professional title, the WBA Fedebol minimumweight title, on September 24th, 2004, with a unanimous decision victory over Miguel Tellez. He has unsuccessfully challenged for a minimumweight world title four times in his career. He firstly was defeated by Iván Calderón on October 21st, 2006, via unanimous decision in a bout for Calderón's WBO minimumweight title. He then lost to WBA champion Yutaka Niida on March 1st, 2008, via sixth-round knockout. Valera was then defeated by IBF champion Raúl García on September 13th, 2008, via unanimous decision. García defeated Valera in a rematch exactly three months later, again by unanimous decision, to retain the title again.
Professional boxing record
| 28 fights | 15 wins | 12 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 6 |
| By decision | 8 | 6 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Loss | 15–12 (1) | Josber Perez | KO | 1 (10), 1:22 | Jul 15, 2017 | Hotel Portofino, Isla Margarita, Venezuela | |
| 27 | Loss | 15–11 (1) | Luis de la Rosa | KO | 2 (10), 2:09 | Jun 1, 2017 | Plaza de La Paz, Cartagena, Colombia | |
| 26 | Loss | 15–10 (1) | Alexis Diaz | KO | 2 (8), 2:44 | Jun 4, 2016 | Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero, Venezuela | |
| 25 | Loss | 15–9 (1) | Kenny Cano | UD | 8 | Dec 20, 2015 | Estadio Francisco De Miranda, La Victoria, Venezuela | |
| 24 | Loss | 15–8 (1) | Édgar Sosa | TKO | 4 (10), 1:33 | Aug 7, 2010 | Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 23 | Loss | 15–7 (1) | Ramón García Hirales | UD | 12 | May 30, 2009 | Modelo Center, La Paz, Mexico | For vacant WBC International light flyweight title |
| 22 | Loss | 15–6 (1) | Raúl García | UD | 12 | Dec 13, 2008 | Gimnasio Medardo Meza Dominguez, Loreto, Mexico | For IBF minimumweight title |
| 21 | Loss | 15–5 (1) | Raúl García | UD | 12 | Sep 13, 2008 | Estadio de Beisbol Arturo C. Nahl, La Paz, Mexico | For IBF minimumweight title |
| 20 | Loss | 15–4 (1) | Yutaka Niida | KO | 6 (12), 2:16 | Mar 1, 2008 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | For WBA minimumweight title |
| 19 | NC | 15–3 (1) | Oscar Martinez | NC | 1 (10) | Sep 8, 2007 | Gimnasio Jose Luis Varela, El Vigía, Venezuela | NC after an accidental head clash |
| 18 | Win | 15–3 | Freddy Canate | UD | 10 | Jul 30, 2007 | El Centro Sambil Margarita, Pampatar, Venezuela | |
| 17 | Loss | 14–3 | Román González | KO | 1 (10), 2:28 | May 12, 2007 | Pharaoh's Casino, Managua, Nicaragua | For vacant WBA Fedelatin minimumweight title |
| 16 | Win | 14–2 | Carlos Melo | UD | 10 | Dec 16, 2006 | Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero, Venezuela | |
| 15 | Loss | 13–2 | Iván Calderón | UD | 12 | Oct 21, 2006 | Coliseo Elias Chegwin, Barranquilla, Colombia | For WBO minimumweight title |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Walberto Ramos | TKO | 12 (12), 2:15 | Mar 17, 2006 | El Velodromo Teo Capriles, Caracas, Venezuela | Retained WBA Fedebol minimumweight title |
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Adolfo Ramos | TKO | 8 (10), 2:16 | Dec 17, 2005 | Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero, Venezuela | |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Walberto Ramos | TKO | 8 (12), 0:49 | Oct 17, 2005 | Parque Naciones Unidas, Caracas, Venezuela | Retained WBA Fedebol minimumweight title |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Breilor Teran | SD | 10 | Mar 5, 2005 | Estadio Municipal, Coro, Venezuela | |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Miguel Tellez | UD | 12 | Sep 25, 2004 | Caracas, Venezuela | Won vacant WBA Fedebol minimumweight title |
| 9 | Loss | 8–1 | Carlos Melo | TD | 10 (12) | May 25, 2004 | Centro de Convenciones Atlapa, Panama City, Panama | For WBA Fedecaribe and WBA Fedecentro minimumweight titles; Unanimous TD after Valera was cut from an accidental head clash |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Over Bolanos | KO | 1, 2:10 | Apr 12, 2004 | Plaza Bicentenaria de Miraflores, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Breilor Teran | UD | 6 | Feb 20, 2004 | Centro Comercial Morichal, Turmero, Venezuela | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Jesus Hernandez | UD | 4 | Oct 27, 2003 | Gimnasio Don Jose Beracasa, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Jesus Hernandez | UD | 4 | Sep 13, 2003 | Turmero, Venezuela | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Jose Vicente Sanchez | TKO | 2 (6), 2:06 | Sep 8, 2003 | Parque Naciones Unidas, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jose Vicente Sanchez | TKO | 3 (6) | May 17, 2003 | Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero, Venezuela | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jose Vicente Sanchez | UD | 4 | Mar 22, 2003 | Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero, Venezuela | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jose Chacon | KO | 3 (4) | Oct 26, 2002 | Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero, Venezuela |