Former flyweight champion Horacio Accavallo passed away yesterday, September 13, 2022, as announced by his son Horacio Jr. on social media.
Accavallo was Argentina’s second champion in history, winning his WBA and WBC titles in March 1966 and relinquishing them as undefeated champion in October 1968, retiring with an incredible record of 75-2-6 with 34 knockouts.
“That’s how I’ll remember you, dad,” his son Horacio Jr. wrote in a post on social media. “With arms raised, like a champion. Thank you for your teachings and for instilling your values in me. Rest in peace.”
Born in absolute poverty on October 14, 1934 to an Italian father and a Spanish mother, “Roquiño” grew up in the marginal neighborhoods of La Quema, a landfill where he daily extracted recyclable material to sell it and survive. As a boy he sold newspapers and shined shoes to help make ends meet, and made his professional boxing debut in 1956 to embark on a career that would know only two defeats in 12 years, an extraordinary achievement during an era of extraordinary talent in boxing. boxing. and in its division in general.
His memorable fights against Italian Salvatore Burruni (champion at the time, who despite losing twice to Accavallo would not give him a chance to fight for the title) led to a vacant title fight against Japan’s Katsuyoshi Takayama in the Nippon Budokkan in Tokyo. With a hard-fought split decision win, Accavallo became Argentina’s second world champion after Pascual Pérez, who had also won the title from him in Japan (against Yoshio Shirai in 1954).
However, his reign would be short-lived. He defended his title against Japan’s Hiroyuki Ebihara and Mexico’s Efren Torres in Buenos Aires, winning by close decisions both times. Following a non-title loss to Kiyoshi Tanabe at Japan’s Korakuen Hall, Accavallo won a controversial majority decision in his rematch against Ebihara in Buenos Aires, announcing his retirement shortly after him.
Following his retirement, Accavallo appeared numerous times as a guest on television shows, making use of his comedic skills. He owned a successful chain of sporting goods stores and was a beloved and remembered figure in the Argentine boxing world. He developed a severe case of Alzheimer’s disease and was committed to a nursing facility in his later years.
Accavallo passed away just a few hours before the start of “Boxer’s Day” in Argentina (in memory of Luis Ángel Firpo’s epic battle against Jack Dempsey in 1923) and a month before his 88th birthday.
Diego M. Morilla has been writing for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and other outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an electing member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest and is the moderator of The Ring’s women’s ratings panel. He served as editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com. Follow him on Twitter @MorillaBoxing
