Then on May 9, 1970, he regained the featherweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Johnny Famechon. In later fights, Vicente proved he was no less effective over long distances. His first reign as champion would last three years, in which Saldívar made eight successful title defenses. The experienced Hart answered bluntly when he was asked why he didn’t allow Rojas to see out the fight: “I’m a referee, not a timekeeper.”. Winstone must have surprised even his most ardent fans as he immediately carried the fight to Saldivar in a confident and almost arrogant manner. It was a very pertinent question to which few could furnish a valid reply. How I admired this glorious fighting man when I was a boy. All those guys were wonderful fighters. To do what he did at featherweight after that was pretty special. I can remember listening to the radio commentary of that first terrific fight and feeling a growing sense of elation as Winstone appeared to be on the way to victory. Fifty years ago, it was still fairly uncommon for young fighters of limited experience to win world titles. Thirty-seven years old and with only two losses in 71 fights, Eder knocked out Saldivar in the fourth round and would post another seven wins before leaving the stage and enjoying a successful and happy retirement. Jofre, who was 37, had won the Featherweight crown after coming out of his own retirement (albeit a brief 7 month one). Interesting how Pat Cowdell gave Salvador Sanchez so many problems, yet Cowdell - nice boxer that he was - was no Winstone. Among his greatest assets was his stamina; he scored seven knockouts after the 7th round. Every punch, every tactical manoeuver, appeared to be a completely natural reaction. He was struck by a gorgeous left-right combination in the sixth round, but still his piston-like arms kept pumping away and Winstone was forced to give ground after taking a couple of hefty blows to the body. All the steam went out of him and he died in July, 1985, at the tragically young age of 42. I think Eder was seriously struggling with his weight before the Harada fights (no disrespect to the great Harada) and of course Jofre then laid off for a long time after his subsequent draw with Manny Elias. Prior to lifting the world title from Ramos, Saldivar outscored Lalo Guerrero and future lightweight champion Ismael Laguna in hard-fought contests. On IMDb TV, you can catch Hollywood hits and popular TV series at no cost. Great boxers don’t consciously plan their moves, they simply let them happen, and Winstone possessed this instinctive ability. Runde durch Aufgabe besiegte. Gutsily he scrambled to his feet, but the following seconds were tortuous for the Welshman as he was driven every which way by Vicente’s ceaseless onslaught. Saldívar fought in front of the fourth largest crowd ever, 90,000 in Estadio Azteca, and has also regularly been cited as one of the finest left-handed fighters of all time. Announcing his retirement after his third triumph over Winstone, Vicente had defended his world crown seven times and compiled a near perfect 34-1 record. Beautiful tribute to an all-time great. And for the first half of the fight, Winstone’s cards were all aces wild. Alas, Vicente was also responsible for severely testing my allegiance. It is not a place to offend anyone. Vicente Saldivar-Garcia was a WBA and WBC Featherweight Campion boxer who fought a total of 40 times and only lost 3 rounds.