On This Day

Flyweight Boxing in History

Weight Divisions: Featherweight - Heavyweight - Light Heavyweight - Light Middleweight - Middleweight - Welterweight

Events in Sport

  • 1923-09-05 Flyweights Gene LaRue & Kid Pancho KO each other simultaneously
  • 1968-01-28 Thai boxer Chartchai Chionoi retains his world flyweight title with a 13th-round TKO of home favourite Efren Torres in Mexico City; first of 3 meetings between the pair
  • 1973-01-02 Japanese boxer Masao Ohba retains his WBA flyweight title with a 12th-round knockout of Chartchai Chionoi of Thailand in Tokyo; Ohba dies three weeks later in a car accident
  • 1985-02-20 After defending his WBC flyweight championship, Sot Chitalada's check for $104,000 is stolen by a ringside pickpocket
  • 2002-03-02 40-year old South African boxer ‘Baby Jake’ Matlala ends his 22-year career with a 7th-round TKO win over Columbia’s Juan Herrera to retain his WBU junior flyweight title in Johannesburg

Birthdays in Sport

  • 1881-11-03 George Mehnert, American wrestler (Olympic gold flyweight 1904, bantamweight 1908), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1948)
  • 1901-08-26 Frankie Genaro, American boxer (World flyweight champion 1928-31; Olympic gold flyweight 1920), born in New York City (d. 1966)
  • 1905-09-29 Fidel LaBarba, American boxer (Olympic gold flyweight 1924; world flyweight title 1927), born in New York City (d. 1981)
  • 1913-04-02 Benny Lynch, Scottish boxer (World flyweight title 1937-38), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1946)
  • 1913-07-26 Louis Salica, American boxer (NBA World Bantamweight title 1935, 40; Olympic bronze flyweight 1932), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
  • 1926-05-04 Pascual Pérez, Argentine boxer (World flyweight champion 1954-60; Olympic gold Flyweight 1948), born in Mendoza, Argentina (d. 1977)
  • 1933-08-04 Nate Brooks, American boxer (Olympic gold flyweight 1952), born in Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1934-10-14 Horacio Accavallo, Argentine boxer (undisputed WBA & WBC flyweight titles 1966-68), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2022)
  • 1938-05-07 Johnny Caldwell, Irish flyweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1956), born in Belfast, Ireland (d. 2009)
  • 1940-01-03 Tsutomu Hanahara, Japanese freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold flyweight 1964), born in Shimonoseki, Japan (d. 2024)
  • 1942-06-01 Fernando Atzori, Italian boxer (Olympic gold flyweight 1964), born in Ales, Italy (d. 2020)
  • 1942-10-10 Chartchai Chionoi, Thai boxer (WBC/WBA flyweight champion), born in Bangkok, Thailand (d. 2018)
  • 1943-04-05 Masahiko 'Fighting' Harada, Japanese boxer (world flyweight, bantamweight champion), born in Tokyo, Japan
  • 1944-10-25 Berkrerk Chartvanchai, Thai boxer (WBA flyweight title 1970), born in Bangkok, Thailand (d. 2022)
  • 1949-10-21 Masao Ohba, Japanese boxer (WBA flyweight champion 1970-73), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 1973)
  • 1949-12-28 Gheorghe Berceanu, Romanian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold light-flyweight 1972, silver 1976; World C'ship gold 1969, 72), born in Cârna, Romania (d. 2022)
  • 1951-05-06 Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold, light-flyweight 1980; World C'ship gold 1981), born in Tegistik, Kazakhstan (d. 2020)
  • 1952-07-03 Peter Mathebula, South African boxer (WBA flyweight title, 1980-81), born in Mohlakeng, South Africa (d. 2020)
  • 1954-11-17 Jorge Hernández, Cuban boxer Olympic gold light flyweight 1976; World C'ship gold 1974, 78), born in Havana, Cuba (d. 2019)
  • 1956-07-20 Charlie Magri, Tunisian British world champ flyweight boxer (1983), born in Tunis, Tunisia
  • 1962-08-01 Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (WBO, WBU, IBA flyweight champion; shortest world champion ever at 1.47m [4-foot-10]), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 2013)
  • 1967-11-03 Eric Griffin, American boxer (World C'ship gold Light Flyweight 1989, 1991), born in Lafayette, Louisiana (d. 2023)
  • 1972-03-01 Yo-Sam Choi, South Korean boxer (Lineal & WBC light flyweight titles 1999-2002), born in Jeongeup, Jeollabukdo, South Korea (d. 2008)
  • 1975-01-27 Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican boxer (WBO mini flyweight title 2003-07; WBO, Ring magazine, lineal light flyweight title 2007-10), born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  • 1975-10-01 Eric Morel, Puerto Rican boxer, (WBA flyweight champion 2000-03), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • 1985-09-20 Moisés Fuentes, Mexican boxer (WBO minimumweight title 2011-13; WBO interim junior flyweight title 2013-14), born in Mexico City (d. 2022)

Deaths in Sport

  • 1946-08-06 Benny Lynch, Scottish boxer (World flyweight title 1937-38), dies of malnutrition-induced respiratory failure at 33
  • 1948-07-08 George Mehnert, American wrestler (Olympic gold flyweight 1904, bantamweight 1908), dies at 66
  • 1966-12-27 Frankie Genaro, American boxer (World flyweight champion 1928-31; Olympic gold flyweight 1920), dies at 65
  • 1973-01-25 Masao Ohba, Japanese boxer (WBA flyweight champion 1970-73), dies in a car accident at 23
  • 1977-01-22 Pascual Pérez, Argentine boxer (World flyweight champion 1954-60; Olympic gold Flyweight 1948), dies at 50
  • 1981-10-02 Fidel LaBarba, American boxer (Olympic gold flyweight 1924; world flyweight title 1927), dies of heart failure at 76
  • 2002-01-30 Louis Salica, American boxer (NBA World Bantamweight title 1935, 40; Olympic bronze flyweight 1932), dies at 89
  • 2008-01-03 Yo-Sam Choi, South Korean boxer (Lineal & WBC light flyweight titles 1999-2002), dies of brain damage after fight at 35
  • 2013-12-07 Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (WBO, WBU, IBA flyweight champion; shortest world champion ever at 1.47m [4-foot-10]), dies from pneumonia at 51
  • 2018-01-21 Chartchai Chionoi, Thai boxer (WBC/WBA flyweight champion), dies of Parkinson's disease at 75
  • 2019-12-12 Jorge Hernández, Cuban boxer Olympic gold light flyweight 1976; World C'ship gold 1974, 78), dies at 65
  • 2020-01-18 Peter Mathebula, South African boxer (WBA flyweight title 1980-81), dies at 67
  • 2020-08-02 Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold, light-flyweight 1980; World C'ship gold 1981), dies at 69
  • 2020-11-09 Fernando Atzori, Italian boxer (Olympic gold flyweight 1964), dies at 78
  • 2022-03-07 Berkrerk Chartvanchai, Thai boxer (WBA flyweight title 1970), dies at 77
  • 2022-08-30 Gheorghe Berceanu, Romanian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold light-flyweight 1972, silver 1976; World C'ship gold 1969, 72), dies at 72
  • 2022-09-13 Horacio Accavallo, Argentine boxer (undisputed WBA & WBC flyweight titles 1966-68), dies at 87
  • 2022-11-24 Moisés Fuentes, Mexican boxer (WBO minimumweight title 2011-13; WBO interim junior flyweight title 2013-14), dies from a blood clot on the brain at 37
  • 2023-10-07 Eric Griffin, American boxer (World C'ship gold Light Flyweight 1989, 1991), dies at 55
  • 2024-02-05 Tsutomu Hanahara, Japanese freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold flyweight 1964), dies at 84

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