Fulgencio Obelmejias

Fulgencio Obelmejias (born January 1, 1953), sometimes known also as Fully Obel is a Venezuelan former boxer, who was world super-middleweight champion.

Biography

Obelmejias was born in San José de Río Chico. He represented his native country at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City, where he lost his first fight to Ricardo Arce of Argentina. He also competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, where he was eliminated in the first round by Cuba's eventual bronze medalist Luis Felipe Martínez.

Professional career

He began his professional career, in the Middleweight division, on January 30, 1977, knocking out Franklin Suzarra in the first round at Caracas. After another win over Suzarra, he embarked on a tour of Mexico and southern California, having six consecutive fights in those areas from October 1977 to April 1978. In his first fight abroad as a professional, held at Mexico City, he worked for nine rounds in only his third professional bout before knocking out Jesus Garcia Ortiz. His second to last fight of that tour was against Abel Cordoba, whom he beat by a ten-round decision in Tuxtla Gutierrez on February 27. His last fight on that tour, against Rudy Robles in Tijuana on April 3, marked the beginning of a seventeen fight knockout win streak. He knocked out Robles in four rounds.

After the fight with Robles, Obelmejias had six consecutive fights in his native Venezuela, including a win over Johnny Heard. He then returned to Mexico, to fight for the Fecarbox Middleweight title against Carlos Marks on December 17 in Culiacán. He won the regional title, as well as a top ten ranking at the Middleweight division by the WBC, by knocking Marks out in nine rounds.

Obelmejias kept winning fights by knockouts, and, on March 3 of 1980, he got one of the biggest wins of his career, when he beat former WBC world Jr. Middleweight champion Elisha Obed in three rounds at Caracas.

After eight more wins, all by knockout, Obelmejias was made the number one contender for the world Middleweight title by the WBC.

When his first chance to become a world champion arrived, on January 17 of 1981, many Venezuelans had faith that he would become world champion; his record at the time (30-0 with 28 knockouts) impressed many boxing fans. However, Obelmejias lost for the first time, being handed an eighth-round knockout loss by then world champion Marvin Hagler in an HBO Boxing televised fight that took place at the famed Boston Garden, home of the NBA basketball's Boston Celtics.

Obelmejias won eight fights in a row, all by knockout, before being given a rematch by Hagler. Among those beaten during that new streak were former world Jr. Middleweight champion Eddie Gazo, beaten in two rounds in Caracas, future world champion Chong-Pal Park, knocked out in eight rounds, also in Caracas, and Alfredo Escalera's cousin, Reyes Escalera, also beaten in two rounds, in Barquisimeto.

On October 30 of 1982, he and Hagler had a rematch which was, once again, shown in the United States by HBO. The second time around, Hagler defeated Obelmejias by a knockout in five rounds at Sanremo, Italy. Both Hagler and Obelmejias fell in love with Italy and the country's culture. Obelmejias established himself there immediately after the rematch with Hagler. Hagler moved to Italy as soon as he lost the world Middleweight title to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987.

After his rematch with Hagler, Obelmejias won nine straight bouts before being upset, on July 27 of 1985, by Clarence Osby. Amongst the quality fighters that he defeated during that nine fight winning streak were Jeff Lampkin, beaten by an eight-round decision, Jerry Celestine, also beaten over eight rounds, and Eric Winbush, who was beaten in Monte Carlo by another eight-round decision.

Then, on May 30 of 1986, he became the Caribbean Light-Heavyweight champion, when he outpointed Tomas Polo Ruiz over ten rounds at Isla Margarita.

He lost the title in his first defense, when he was knocked out by future world champion Leslie Stewart in four rounds, at Trinidad and Tobago on November 15 of 1986.

After one more win, he was given a third try at becoming a world champion, when the Lineal and WBA Super Middleweight champion, Obelmejias' former rival, Chong-Pal Park, offered him a shot.

The third time proved to be the charm for Obelmejias, when he beat Park by a twelve-round decision on May 23, 1988 at South Korea. With that win, Obelmejias had fulfilled his lifelong dream; as well as the dream of his fans' of becoming a world champion.[1]

His stint as world champion did not last long, however, and he lost the title during his first defense, 370 days after winning it, being knocked out in eleven rounds by In-Chul Baek, also in South Korea.

Retirement

Obelmejias retired for good after three more wins; he was approaching, at 38, the mandatory boxing retirement age of 40 in Venezuela after his last fight, a ten-round decision win over Eduardo Rodriguez.

Obelmejias had a record of 52 wins and five losses, with 41 wins by way of knockout.

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
57 fights 52 wins 5 losses
By knockout 41 4
By decision 11 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
57 Win 52–5 Eduardo Rodriguez PTS 10 Dec 15, 1992 Caracas, Venezuela
56 Win 51–5 Otata KO 3 Dec 18, 1991 Auckland, New Zealand
55 Win 50–5 Chris Nicolaou KO 6 (10) Sep 29, 1991 Auckland, New Zealand
54 Loss 49–5 In-Chul Baek TKO 11 (12), 1:21 May 28, 1989 Yeosu, South Korea Lost WBA super middleweight title
53 Win 49–4 Chong-Pal Park UD 12 May 23, 1988 Cheongju, South Korea Won WBA super middleweight title
52 Win 48–4 Chris Reid KO 10 (10), 1:01 Jun 18, 1987 New York City, New York, U.S.
51 Loss 47–4 Leslie Stewart TKO 4 (12) Nov 16, 1986 Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago Lost WBA Fedelatin light-heavyweight title
50 Win 47–3 Tomas Polo Ruiz PTS 12 May 30, 1986 Porlamar, Venezuela Won WBA Fedelatin light heavyweight title
49 Loss 46–3 Clarence Osby PTS 8 Jul 21, 1985 Campione d'Italia, Italy
48 Win 46–2 Leon Taylor KO 2 Dec 15, 1984 Calabria, Italy
47 Win 45–2 Eric Winbush PTS 8 Sep 22, 1984 Monte Carlo, Monaco
46 Win 44–2 Cesar Abel Romero PTS 8 Jul 14, 1984 Monte Carlo, Monaco
45 Win 43–2 Arthel Lawhorne PTS 8 Apr 28, 1984 Campania, Italy
44 Win 42–2 Henry Sims KO 4 (10) Mar 23, 1984 Chiavari, Italy
43 Win 41–2 Jerry Celestine PTS 8 Feb 25, 1984 Paris, France
42 Win 40–2 Jeff Lampkin PTS 8 Dec 14, 1983 Loano, Italy
41 Win 39–2 Raymond Gonzales TKO 4 Oct 24, 1983 Saint Vincent d'Aoste, Italy
40 Loss 38–2 "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler TKO 5 (15), 2:35 Oct 30, 1982 Sanremo, Italy For WBA and WBC middleweight titles
39 Win 38–1 Willie Torres TKO 8 (10) Aug 9, 1982 Porlamar, Venezuela
38 Win 37–1 Reyes Escalera TKO 2 Jun 14, 1982 Barquisimeto, Venezuela
37 Win 36–1 Johnny Wise KO 2 Feb 15, 1982 Caracas, Venezuela
36 Win 35–1 Chong-Pal Park KO 8 (10) Nov 7, 1981 Caracas, Venezuela
35 Win 34–1 Eddie Gazo KO 2 Oct 6, 1981 Caracas, Venezuela
34 Win 33–1 Wayne Barker TKO 2 (10) Aug 31, 1981 Caracas, Venezuela
33 Win 32–1 Joe Gonsalves TKO 2 (10) May 30, 1981 Caracas, Venezuela
32 Win 31–1 Norberto Rufino Cabrera KO 5 (10) May 4, 1981 Caracas, Venezuela
31 Loss 30–1 "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler TKO 8 (15), 0:20 Jan 17, 1981 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. For WBA and WBC middleweight titles
30 Win 30–0 James Waire TKO 3 (10), 2:49 Nov 28, 1980 Campione d'Italia, Italy
29 Win 29–0 Leroy Green Jr. TKO 3 Oct 31, 1980 Rome, Italy
28 Win 28–0 Fred Johnson TKO 3 Sep 10, 1980 Sanremo, Italy
27 Win 27–0 Felton Marshall PTS 10 Aug 19, 1980 Caracas, Venezuela
26 Win 26–0 Clifford Wills TKO 3 Jun 30, 1980 Caracas, Venezuela
25 Win 25–0 Lamont Lovelady PTS 10 May 26, 1980 Caracas, Venezuela
24 Win 24–0 Walter Miranda KO 1 Apr 14, 1980 Caracas, Venezuela
23 Win 23–0 Abel Cordoba KO 2 Apr 1, 1980 Caracas, Venezuela
22 Win 22–0 Elisha Obed TKO 3 (10) Mar 3, 1980 Caracas, Venezuela
21 Win 21–0 Ray Phillips KO 4 Dec 17, 1979 Caracas, Venezuela
20 Win 20–0 George Lee TKO 1 Oct 26, 1979 Caracas, Venezuela
19 Win 19–0 Sammy Floyd TKO 10 Sep 16, 1979 Caracas, Venezuela
18 Win 18–0 Luis Arias KO 2 (12) Aug 7, 1979 Caracas, Venezuela Retained WBC FECARBOX middleweight title
17 Win 17–0 Jamie Thomas KO 5 Apr 1, 1979 Caracas, Venezuela
16 Win 16–0 Angel Jose Ortiz KO 2 Feb 10, 1979 Caracas, Venezuela
15 Win 15–0 Carlos Marks TKO 9 (12) Dec 17, 1978 Culiacan, Mexico Won WBC FECARBOX middleweight title
14 Win 14–0 Ken Blackwell KO 3 Nov 12, 1978 Caracas, Venezuela
13 Win 13–0 Johnny Heard KO 7 Sep 17, 1978 Caracas, Venezuela
12 Win 12–0 Willie Warren RTD 9 (10) Jul 30, 1978 Caracas, Venezuela
11 Win 11–0 Sandy Torres KO 4 Jul 15, 1978 Caracas, Venezuela
10 Win 10–0 Jose Anglada KO 1 Jun 4, 1978 Caracas, Venezuela
9 Win 9–0 Rolando Martinez TKO 1 Apr 30, 1978 Caracas, Venezuela
8 Win 8–0 Rudy Robles TKO 4 (10), 2:05 Apr 3, 1978 Tijuana, Mexico
7 Win 7–0 Abel Cordoba PTS 10 Feb 27, 1978 Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico
6 Win 6–0 Vicente Pinon KO 2 (10) Feb 4, 1978 Mexico City, Mexico
5 Win 5–0 Rogelio Vera KO 2 (10) Dec 17, 1977 Mexico City, Mexico
4 Win 4–0 Andre Beard KO 1, 1:50 Nov 18, 1977 San Diego, California, US
3 Win 3–0 Jesus Garza Ortiz KO 9 Oct 22, 1977 Mexico City, Mexico
2 Win 2–0 Franklin Suzarra TKO 2 Apr 3, 1977 Caracas, Venezuela
1 Win 1–0 Franklin Suzarra TKO 1 Jan 30, 1977 Caracas, Venezuela

See also

References
  1. "Fulgencio Obelmejias - Lineal Super Middleweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
Achievements
Preceded by
Chong-Pal Park		 WBA super middleweight champion
May 23, 1988 – May 28, 1989		 Succeeded by
In-Chul Baek
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