Oswaldo Novoa: WBC Minimumweight Champion
Oswaldo “Gallito” Novoa is a Mexican professional boxer who held the WBC minimumweight championship in 2014. His reign lasted nine months and included one successful defense.
WBC title reign
Novoa won the WBC minimumweight title on February 5, 2014, stopping defending champion Xiong Zhao Zhong. On November 6, he faced Wanheng Menayothin in Thailand and lost the title when his corner stopped the contest after the ninth round. Contemporary reports and the championship record confirm that Wanheng became champion in that bout.
The title history is brief but significant: Novoa became world champion by defeating Xiong and made one defense before Wanheng ended his reign.
The successful defense in Mexico
Novoa retained his championship against Nicaragua’s Alcides Martinez on June 28, 2014, in Epazoyucan, Mexico. Martinez retired after eight rounds, giving Novoa a successful home defense between the title-winning trip to China and the later challenge in Thailand. These three bouts define the sequence of his WBC reign.
Building toward a world title
His earlier results included a split-decision victory over Jose Argumedo in July 2012 and a twelve-round unanimous decision over Jose Alfredo Zuniga that October. Stoppage wins over Ariel Guzman, Javier Martinez Resendiz and Job Solano followed before the opportunity against Xiong. The compiled bout record places those wins in chronological order.
Novoa continued competing after losing the world championship. His subsequent opponents included Mario Andrade, Moises Fuentes, Saul Juarez and Pedro Guevara. Those appearances show that the Wanheng fight ended his title reign rather than his professional career. His place in minimumweight history rests on a title victory abroad, a defense at home and another overseas championship assignment later in the same year.
Further career results
Before becoming a world champion at minimumweight, Novoa collected titles at light flyweight. His record lists the Jalisco state championship in 2010 and the WBC FECOMBOX belt in 2012. Both belonged to his earlier development in Mexico, before the 2014 trip to China brought the world championship in the smaller division.
Sources
- BoxRec: Oswaldo Novoa profile and title record
- WBC: Strawweight champions, including Novoa (2014)
- BoxingScene: Wanheng stops Novoa for the WBC crown
