Quick Facts
Biography
Vicente Paúl Rondón (July 29, 1938 – December 28, 1992) was a Venezuelan professional boxer who won the WBA light heavyweight title.
Personal background
Rondón was born in extreme poverty in San José de Río Chico, Miranda, Venezuela, and decided to escape his poor surroundings by enlisting in the Venezuelan military at an early age.
Professional career
When Rondón turned professional, his year of birth was listed as 1944; in fact it was 1938. Rondón began fighting as a middleweight and made a name for himself with upset victories over former world welterweight champion Luis Rodríguez and middleweight contender Bennie Briscoe. However, Rondon was growing and quickly established himself as a top rated light heavyweight with impressive wins over Roger Rouse, Eddie Talhami, and Allen Thomas. World Light heavyweight Champion Bob Foster did not seem eager to fight the #2 ranked Rondón or the #1 rated Jimmy Dupree. The WBA stripped Foster of his title and matched Rondón and Dupree.
In an exciting slugfest, Rondón climbed off the canvas in the second round to stop the favored Dupree at 2:58 of the 6th round. At the time of the stoppage, referee Zack Clayton had the fight scored even at 47–47. Judge Dimas Hernandez also scored the bout 47–47, and judge Gustavo Vargas favored Rondón, 48–47. Following the fight, a controversy broke out with Dupree claiming he was drugged. The United Press International published a story of the claim. In the UPI article, Charliese Smith, a registered nurse and friend of Dupree said, "I believe Jimmy was drugged. I saw Jimmy after the fight and he was very very weak. His vision was blurry and he couldn't even see the other side of the room." She went on to say, "I know of muscle relaxants that can be administered in food and I'm convinced that Jimmy was given something." Regardless of the charges, the World Boxing Association recognized Rondón as world champion, while The Ring magazine viewed Bob Foster as the legitimate Light heavyweight king.
1971 was an outstanding year for Rondón with a number of title defenses. He became the first and only fighter to stop Gomeo Brennan. Many experts felt that Rondón could and would defeat Bob Foster. Rondon flopped badly against Foster in 1972; being destroyed in two rounds. A venture into the heavyweight ranks proved just as bad, as he was beaten by Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle and José Urtain. Rondón did better in 1973 as he started to trim down in weight. He looked highly skilled and impressive by scoring a 10 round decision over undefeated prospect Oliver Wright on Miami Beach. Shortly after he stopped heavyweight Mike "Jim" Boswell in four rounds.
Sadly, Rondón's private life was full of demons. He was developing a drinking problem and spending money like it was going out of style. An attempt to regain the light heavyweight title, saw him drop a decision to number 1 rated Len Hutchins, and then suffer a 9th round technical knockout to John Conteh. In 1974, Rondón, weighing 188 pounds, went back to the heavyweight division, where he would be largely unsuccessful. He was unable to get off the stool for round three in his fight with Rodney Bobick at Miami Beach, Florida. In his next fight he was knocked out in two rounds by former world heavyweight title contender José "King" Roman.
Life after boxing
Shortly thereafter Rondón's career hit the skids and so did he. He was confined to a mental hospital, and later arrested on charges of robbing a store for $150. Rondon served a prison sentence, and there are unconfirmed reports that he boxed some exhibitions or possibility a professional match. Rondón was released from prison a physical wreck. Vicente Paul Rondón, the boxing idol of his country, died forgotten, broke and in poverty in Santa Ana de Carapita, a slum of Caracas. Rondón had been living with his elderly mother at the time. He was 54 when he died.
Professional boxing record
| 39 Wins (22 knockouts), 15 Losses (7 knockouts), 1 Draw, 2 No Contests | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Round Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 39–15–1 2 NC |  José Roman | TKO | 2 (10) | 1974–06–06 |  Curtis Hixon Hall,Tampa, Florida | |
| Loss | 39–14–1 2 NC | Rodney Bobick | TKO | 3 (10) | 1974–02–19 | Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Loss | 39–13–1 2 NC |  Rudiger Schmidtke | PTS | 10 | 1973–11–17 | Frankfurt, Hesse | |
| Loss | 39–12–1 2 NC |  John Conteh | TKO | 9 (10) | 1973–09–10 | Empire Pool, London | |
| Win | 39–11–1 2 NC | Mike Boswell | TKO | 4 (10) | 1973–08–24 | Indianapolis | |
| Loss | 38–11–1 2 NC |  Tom Bogs | PTS | 10 | 1973–06–14 | K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Capital Region | |
| Loss | 38–10–1 2 NC | Len Hutchins | PTS | 10 | 1973–05–19 | Detroit, Michigan | |
| Win | 38–9–1 2 NC |  Oliver Wright | PTS | 10 | 1973–04–03 | Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Win | 37–9–1 2 NC | Larry Beilfuss | PTS | 10 | 1973–02–15 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan | |
| Loss | 36–9–1 2 NC |  José Manuel Urtain | PTS | 10 | 1972–12–01 | Madrid | |
| Loss | 36–8–1 2 NC | Earnie Shavers | UD | 10 | 1972–08–26 | Canton Auditorium, Canton, Ohio | |
| Loss | 36–7–1 2 NC | Ron Lyle | TKO | 2 (10) 1:41 | 1972–07–10 | Denver, Colorado | |
| Loss | 36–6–1 2 NC | Bob Foster | TKO | 2 (15) 2:55 | 1972–04–07 | Miami Beach Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida | For WBC Light heavyweight title. Lost WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| Win | 36–5–1 2 NC | Doyle Baird | TKO | 8 (15) 2:10 | 1971–12–15 | Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio | Retained WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| Win | 35–5–1 2 NC |  Gomeo Brennan | TKO | 14 (15) | 1971–10–26 | Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida | Retained WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| Win | 34–5–1 2 NC | Conny Velensek | PTS | 15 | 1971–10–14 | Berlin | Non-title fight. |
| Win | 33–5–1 2 NC | Eddie Jones | UD | 15 | 1971–08–21 |  Nuevo Circo,Caracas, Venezuela | Retained WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| Win | 32–5–1 2 NC | Johnny Griffin | PTS | 15 | 1971–07–11 | Valencia, Valencia | Non-title fight. |
| Win | 31–5–1 2 NC |  Piero del Papa | KO | 1 (15) | 1971–06–05 | Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela | Retained WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| Win | 30–5–1 2 NC | Jimmy Dupree | KO | 6 (15) 2:58 | 1971–02–27 | Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela | Won vacant WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| Win | 29–5–1 2 NC | Roger Rouse | UD | 10 | 1970–11–07 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan | |
| Win | 28–5–1 2 NC | Willie Johnson | TKO | 4 (10) | 1970–10–06 | Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Win | 27–5–1 2 NC | Hydra Lacy | KO | 2 (10) | 1970–08–11 | Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Win | 26–5–1 2 NC | Levan Roundtree | PTS | 10 | 1970–05–20 | Mayagüez | |
| Win | 25–5–1 2 NC | Fred Williams | KO | 4 (10) | 1970–04–18 | San Juan | |
| Win | 24–5–1 2 NC |  Avenamar Peralta | PTS | 10 | 1969–12–06 | Buenos Aires | |
| Win | 23–5–1 2 NC |  Randy Stevens | KO | 5 (10) | 1969–11–29 | San Juan | |
| Win | 22–5–1 2 NC | Angel Oquendo | TKO | 6 (10) | 1969–10–26 | San Juan | |
| No Contest | 21–5–1 2 NC | Paul Johnson | NC | 7 (10) | 1969–08–09 | San Juan | |
| Win | 21–5–1 1 NC |  Eddie Talhami | PTS | 10 | 1969–07–05 | San Juan | |
| Win | 20–5–1 1 NC | José Luis García | PTS | 12 | 1969–05–30 | Caracas, Venezuela | Won vacant Venezuelan Light heavyweight title. |
| Win | 19–5–1 1 NC | Karl Zurheide | UD | 10 | 1969–05–06 | Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Win | 18–5–1 1 NC | Allen Thomas | PTS | 10 | 1969–04–01 | Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Loss | 17–5–1 1 NC | Bennie Briscoe | TKO | 8 (10) | 1969–01–26 | San Juan | |
| Win | 17–4–1 1 NC | Charlie Jordan | PTS | 10 | 1968–11–26 | Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Win | 16–4–1 1 NC | Charlie Jordan | UD | 10 | 1968–11–12 | Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Loss | 15–4–1 1 NC |  Juarez de Lima | PTS | 10 | 1968–11–03 | San Juan | |
| Win | 15–3–1 1 NC | Bennie Briscoe | UD | 10 | 1968–09–23 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan | |
| Win | 14–3–1 1 NC | Charley Austin | PTS | 10 | 1968–09–09 | San Juan | |
| Loss | 13–3–1 1 NC |  Luis Manuel Rodríguez | UD | 10 | 1968–07–18 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan | |
| Win | 13–2–1 1 NC | Luis Manuel Rodríguez | UD | 10 | 1968–06–03 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan | |
| Loss | 12–2–1 1 NC | José González | TKO | 8 (10) 1:19 | 1968–04–19 | National Maritime Union Hall, New York City | |
| Loss | 12–1–1 1 NC | Bobby Warthen | SD | 10 | 1968–01–12 | National Maritime Union Hall, New York City | |
| Win | 12–0–1 1 NC |  Phil Robinson | KO | 5 (10) | 1967–12–14 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| Draw | 11–0–1 1 NC | Harold Richardson | PTS | 10 | 1967–11–10 | San Juan | |
| Win | 11–0 1 NC | Pedro Miranda | TKO | 10 (10) | 1967–10–14 | San Juan | |
| Win | 10–0 1 NC | Tony Smith | KO | 3 (10) | 1967–09–08 | Manuel Carrasquillo Peren Stadium, Río Piedras | |
| Win | 9–0 1 NC | Marco Tulio Polanco | KO | 3 (10) | 1967–06–12 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| Win | 8–0 1 NC | Danny Machado | TKO | 4 (10) | 1967–03–20 | Palacio de Deportes, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| No Contest | 7–0 1 NC | Marco Tulio Polanco | NC | 2 (10) | 1966–12–04 | Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| Win | 7–0 | Marcos Pirella | KO | 2 (10) | 1966–11–14 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| Win | 6–0 |  Melville Bennett | KO | 2 (10) | 1966–09–16 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
| Win | 5–0 | Marco Tulio Polanco | KO | 3 (10) | 1966–06–24 | Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| Win | 4–0 |  Pedro Vanegas | KO | 6 (10) | 1965–11–05 | Cartagena, Bolívar | |
| Win | 3–0 | Pedro Vanegas | KO | 4 (10) | 1965–10–29 | Barranquilla, Atlántico | |
| Win | 2–0 | Joe Louis Troconis | KO | 1 (?) | 1965–07–26 | Palacio de Deportes, Caracas, Venezuela | |
| Win | 1–0 | Joe Carabella | KO | 2 (?) | 1965–06–28 | Palacio de Deportes, Caracas, Venezuela | |