Jaime Rios: The Inspiring Journey of Panama’s Boxing Legend
Jaime Ríos Angulo was a Panamanian professional boxer and the first World Boxing Association (WBA) light-flyweight champion.
The first WBA light-flyweight champion
Ríos turned professional in 1973. On August 23, 1975, he faced Venezuela’s Rigoberto Marcano in Panama City for the newly created WBA light-flyweight championship. Ríos won by unanimous decision after 15 rounds, becoming the division’s inaugural champion. The WBA title-fight record lists the bout as the first championship contest in the division.
He made one successful defense, beating Japan’s Kazunori Tenryu by split decision on January 3, 1976. On July 2, Ríos lost his title to Dominican challenger Juan Antonio Guzmán, also by split decision over 15 rounds. Ríos later challenged Yoko Gushiken for the same championship in 1977 and 1978. Gushiken won their first meeting by decision and the second by stoppage.
Later career and record
The World Boxing Council’s tribute published after Ríos’s death records a professional mark of 22 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw, with 10 knockouts. It also notes that after his earlier career, he returned to the ring 14 years later for two more bouts before retiring.
Ríos died in Panama on March 20, 2019, aged 65. The WBC remembered him as a former Panamanian champion, while boxing histories identify him as the inaugural WBA light-flyweight titleholder. His place in the record rests on a specific first: winning the newly established championship in front of a home crowd.
About the video
The original video is retained, but its title refers to a “Jaime Rios” on an Elite card. Its available metadata does not confirm that it features the Panamanian former world champion, so it is not presented as archival footage of Ríos’s title bouts.
Sources
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
