Ossie Ocasio

Osvaldo "Ossie" Ocasio (born August 12, 1955) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who held the world cruiserweight championship. Nicknamed "Jaws", his peculiar nickname was the result of him accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session.

Ossie Ocasio
Statistics
Real nameOsvaldo Ocasio
Nickname(s)Jaws
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 11 1⁄2 in (182 cm)
Reach74 in (188 cm)
NationalityPuerto Rican
Born (1955-08-12) August 12, 1955
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico[1]
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights37
Wins23
Wins by KO12
Losses13
Draws1
No contests0

Heavyweight contender

Ocasio campaigned in the heavyweight division, turning pro in 1976 and putting together 10 wins before signing with Don King and making a name for himself outpointing King fighter Kevin Isaac.

In 1978 on the undercard of the Larry Holmes/Ken Norton title fight Ocasio scored a major upset when he outpointed the highly regarded Jimmy Young, who'd outpointed George Foreman only a while back. In a rematch, Ocasio underlined his superiority by again outpointing a this time in-shape Young, in Puerto Rico. It was Ocasio's career high in the Heavyweight division.

This earned him his only world heavyweight title shot, against Larry Holmes in 1979. Attempting to become the first Hispanic to win the world Heavyweight championship, Ocasio was badly outclassed and lost to Holmes by a knockout in seven rounds.[2][3]

In 1980 he fought red hot undefeated prospect Michael Dokes, and was unlucky to only get a draw. However a rematch saw Ocasio surprisingly knocked out in 1 round. The following year he travelled to the UK and made little effort against local prospect John L. Gardner, before collapsing without getting hit in the 6th round.

Cruiserweight World Champion
Main article: Evander Holyfield vs. Ossie Ocasio
External audio
You may watch Ossie Ocasio vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi here

He later went down in weight, to fight in the then newly created division of the Cruiserweights. In 1982 he was matched with Robbie Williams in South Africa for the vacant WBA title. Ocasio became a world champion by beating Williams by a 15-round unanimous decision. He shared honors as world champion of that division with countryman Carlos De León, the WBC world champion.

Ocasio made three successful defenses, winning 15-round decisions over Young Joe Louis and Randy Stephens, appearing on Jet Magazine the week before the Stephens bout,[4] and knocking out John Odhiambo in the 15th round in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He then returned to South Africa, where he lost his title to Piet Crous by a 15-round decision. One month before losing the title, his brother had been murdered.

Ocasio, during his championship run, was able to buy a house in Trujillo Alto, where he maintained a large farm. He also participated in a Puerto Rican movie, playing a slave in the production.

In 1986, he made a comeback, winning two fights including a 10-round decision over former world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi in Atlantic City. Most fans had Qawi winning all 10 rounds, and this is considered one of the worst decisions in boxing history. He attempted to regain his world championship against Evander Holyfield in Marseille, France, but lost by a knockout in 11 rounds.

Return to Heavyweight

He returned to the heavyweight division in 1988, defeating Pierre Coetzer in South Africa, but losing the decision in a rematch. After this fight he was relegated to trialhorse status.

In 1989 he made Ray Mercer look bad, losing an 8-round decision. In 1990 he dropped decisions to Tyrell Biggs and Bruce Seldon, then travelled to the UK for two fights losing an 8-round decision to Lennox Lewis and scoring an upset when stopping Jess Harding in 8 rounds. Ocasio then travelled to Australia, where he was outpointed by the erratic Mike Hunter.[5]

One last comeback in 1992 resulted in a dreary points loss to ex-contender Carl Williams, but it was hard hitting Hispanic prospect Alex Garcia who convinced the usually durable Ocasio to retire- he decked Ocasio several times before knocking him out in the 8th.

He retired from boxing with a record of 23 wins, 13 losses and 1 draw, with 12 knockout wins. He currently resides in Orlando, Florida.

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
37 fights 23 wins 13 losses
By knockout 12 5
By decision 11 8
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
37 Loss 23–13–1 Alex Garcia TKO 8 (10) 23/11/1992 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
36 Loss 23–12–1 Carl Williams UD 10 20/08/1992 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
35 Loss 23–11–1 Mike Hunter UD 10 14/12/1990 Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
34 Win 23–10–1 Jess Harding RTD 8 (10) 03/10/1990 Festival Hall, Basildon, Essex, England, United Kingdom
33 Loss 22–10–1 Lennox Lewis PTS 8 27/06/1990 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
32 Loss 22–9–1 Bruce Seldon UD 8 18/05/1990 San Jose, California, United States
31 Loss 22–8–1 Tyrell Biggs UD 10 11/01/1990 Trump Plaza Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
30 Loss 22–7–1 Ray Mercer SD 8 07/12/1989 Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
29 Loss 22–6–1 Pierre Coetzer UD 10 26/11/1988 Standard Bank Indoor Arena, Johannesburg, South Africa
28 Win 22–5–1 Pierre Coetzer UD 10 06/03/1988 Good Hope Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
27 Loss 21–5–1 Evander Holyfield TKO 11 (15) 15/08/1987 Saint-Tropez, Var, France For WBA and IBF cruiserweight titles
26 Win 21–4–1 Dwight Muhammad Qawi MD 10 15/05/1987 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
25 Win 20–4–1 Narcisco Maldonado PTS 10 23/03/1986 Lawlor Events Center, Nevada, United States
24 Loss 19–4–1 Piet Crous UD 15 01/12/1984 Superbowl, Sun City, South Adrica Lost WBA cruiserweight title
23 Win 19–3–1 John Odhiambho TKO 15 05/05/1984 Mets Pavillion, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Retained WBA cruiserweight title
22 Win 18–3–1 Randy Stephens UD 15 20/05/1983 Dunes Outdoor Arena, Nevada, United States Retained WBA cruiserweight title
21 Win 17–3–1 Eddie Taylor UD 15 15/12/1982 Aragon Ballroom, Illinois, United States Retained WBA cruiserweight title
20 Win 16–3–1 Robbie Williams SD 15 13/02/1982 Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Won inaugural WBA cruiserweight title
19 Loss 15–3–1 John L Gardner KO 10 17/03/1981 Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom
18 Win 15–2–1 Barry Funches UD 10 23/10/1980 The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York, United States
17 Loss 14–2–1 Michael Dokes TKO 1 28/06/1980 San Juan, Puerto Rico
16 Draw 14–1–1 Michael Dokes SD 10 19/04/1980 San Juan, Puerto Rico
15 Win 14–1 Jack Sterling TKO 1 20/11/1979 Convention Hall, Florida, United States
14 Loss 13–1 Larry Holmes TKO 7 23/03/1979 Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, Nevada, United States For WBC heavyweight title
13 Win 13–0 Jimmy Young UD 10 27/01/1979 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
12 Win 12–0 Jimmy Young SD 10 09/06/1978 Caesars Palace, Sports Pavilion, Nevada, United States
11 Win 11–0 Kevin Isaac UD 10 08/04/1978 Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
10 Win 10–0 Tom Nickson KO 4 12/07/1977 Orlando Sports Stadium, Florida, United States
9 Win 9–0 Frank Schram TKO 4 25/06/1977 Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
8 Win 8–0 Clarence Morris KO 2 14/06/1977 Orlando Sports Stadium, Florida, United States
7 Win 7–0 Gene Idelette KO 1 17/03/1977 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
6 Win 6–0 Ed Turner KO 2 12/02/1977 Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
5 Win 5–0 Aaron Solomon KO 1 16/08/1976 San Juan, Puerto Rico
4 Win 4–0 Ed Turner PTS 8 17-07-1976 San Juan, Puerto Rico
3 Win 3–0 Luis Reins KO 1 27-04-1976 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2 Win 2–0 Rafael Guerrero KO 2 05-04-1976 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1 Win 1–0 Lorenzo Simons KO 3 20-02-1976 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico

See also

References
  1. "This Week in Boxing History: August 10th – August 16th". August 10, 2015.
  2. "Larry Holmes KOs Ossie Ocasio This Day March 23, 1979 and Keeps Crown" – via www.youtube.com.
  3. "The History of the Heavyweight Championship - 1979". sports.yahoo.com.
  4. books.google.com/books?id=7EEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=the+crown+affair+may+20&source=bl&ots=VU6KM48as3&sig=ACfU3U2LMuSBeM0hMXCL90DfX2JfXrdR-Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi38KTc7NPrAhVXgp4KHU61D_MQ6AEwEnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20crown%20affair%20may%2020&f=false
  5. "Almost Getting to the Sunshine - Boxing.com". www.boxing.com.
Achievements
Inaugural Champion WBA cruiserweight champion
February 13, 1982 – December 1, 1984		 Succeeded by
Piet Crous
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