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01/19/2009 Archived Entry: "An Interview with 1997 International Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee: Jose Torres"
An Interview with 1997 International Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee: Jose Torres
By: David Iamele
[Editor's Note: This interview of the late, former all-time great champion, boxing commissioner and author Jose Torres first appeared in the July 28, 1997 issue of the Cyber Boxing Zone Journal, now known as 'Wail!']
Jose Torres was born May 3, 1936 in Playa-Ponce, Puerto Rico. Jose began boxing in the U.S. Army at the age of 18. In the 1956 Olympics, he won the light middleweight Silver medal, losing a split decision to three-time champion Laszlo Papp of Hungary.
Jose turned pro in 1957 under the tutelage of Hall of Fame trainer, Cus D'Amato, and was undefeated in his first 27 bouts. Torres' pro debut was on May 24, 1958, which he won by first round KO. Between 1958 and 1963, the only blemishes on Jose's record were a 10 round draw with future welterweight champion Benny Paret (Sept. 26, 1959) and a KO 5 loss to Florentino Fernandez (May 26, 1963). Winning all of his next eight fights, including a first round KO of Bobo Olson, landed him a title shot against light heavyweight champ Willie Pastrano on March 30, 1965.
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/box7-97.htm#torres
