Forgotten Champions: Loreto Garza

[BoztheMadman]

Loreto Garza is a former junior welterweight champion who really never got the fame he deserved. Instead, he is even disrespected as a guy who in one article served as an argument against Juan Martin Coggi’s claim for greatness. It was argued that because Coggi lost to him, he cannot be considered a true great. But in reality, Garza was no joke. Although his championship reign was ended brutally by the great Edwin Rosario, he still holds victories over not just Coggi but also Vinny Pazienza, Charlie Brown, Joe Manley, Harry Arroyo and Frankie Warren. 
 

Born on 23 May 1962 in Sacramento, California, Garza started boxing at 18, inspired from childhood by Roberto Duran, and won the Golden Gloves three times and made the US team as well. At 5’10 or 178 cm he was very tall for a junior welterweight and also had a reach of 72 or 183 cm. Garza was a boxer-puncher who typically overwhelmed his opponents using his physical advantages and punching power, but he could also box well. He became a professional in 1982 and scored 5 straight knockouts before losing by TKO4 against the solid Francisco Tomas da Cruz of Brazil on 15 November 1983. He progressed and continued winning and on 12 February 1988 he stopped former lightweight world champion Charlie “Choo Choo” Brown by TKO4.  He then faced Harry Arroyo for the WBC Continental title and impressively stopped him by first round TKO, 22 April that year. 
 

In 1989, he first knocked out the former IBF champion Joe Manley with a single right hand in round 7, before avenging his first loss and winning against Francisco Tomas da Cruz the same way he lost to him, TKO4. Also on 12 August that same year, he beat the 30-1 Frankie Warren by UD12 in a hard war to secure the IBF USBA belt. On 17 August next year, he got to fight the WBA champion Juan Martin Coggi in Nice, France and boxed and counterpunched beautifully, earning the majority decision and the big title in the end. He defended for the first time at home in Sacramento, 1 December. He dominated the shorter Vinny Pazienza and bloodied his face until the 11th round when a frustrated Pazienza picked him up and tried to slam him into the canvas, thus earning a disqualification. 
 

The end of his reign came on 14 June 1991, again at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, when he faced the great former lightweight Edwin Rosario, who handled tall men well. Standing only 5’6, he had also brutally ended the title reign of Livingstone Bramble at 135, in only 2 rounds. Garza would last one more, as he got dropped twice in the first round and twice in the third before it was over. The title would since change hands frequently, but Garza never got another offer to fight for it. He has three more easy fights and won them all by knockout, before retiring in 1993. His record is 31-2-1, with 26 ko’s. 
 

About that Rosario fight he said:”I believe he caught me with the very first right hand he threw. Because of that right hand, I was never in the fight. I was never on solid ground, like tipsy.” Being a tall guy for that weight class, it was hard keeping your balance against a puncher like Chapo, but he hung in there. Garza actually had a rematch clause with Rosario, but he realized when he tried to activate it that it had a timeline and it had elapsed. Since retiring, he has worked as a correctional officer for 30 years, retiring in November 2022. Loreto Garza was a talented fighter but his time on elite level stage was brief, however his record does prove he definitely was elite level and talented and a hard challenge for almost everyone. He is mostly remembered and revered in his hometown and most boxing historians barely mention him, which makes him a FORGOTTEN CHAMPION!