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Johnny De La Rosa: Overlooked in Boxing & Robbed by the Judges in his Title Fight Against Juan Laporte

Who do you think won between Juan Laporte & Johnny De La Rosa in their 1983 title fight?

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JDLBy Ian “The Boxing Historian” Murphy

Questionable and sometimes downright dubious decisions have been a part of boxing since the very beginning. The 1999 Heavyweight Championship clash between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield is one notable instance, as is the 2012 fight involving Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. The 1993 showdown between Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez is considered one of the most notorious judging blunders in boxing history. The 1983 fight between rising contender Johnny De La Rosa and WBC Featherweight Champion Juan Laporte is less well known than the previously mentioned matches, but is still considered by many to be a hometown robbery that may have altered the course of Featherweight division.

In June of 1983 the 126lb weight class was chock full of excitement and the talent pool in that division was DEEP. The Featherweight division has seen some of the best technical boxing in history, with standouts like Willie Pep and Salvador Sanchez bringing those talents to the forefront. The late 1970s through the 1980s era was no exception. The great former Junior Featherweight champion Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez was on the short list of challengers for a title shot. Waiting in the wings for a unification bout was long reigning Panamanian WBA champion Eusabio Pedroza, who incidentally had bested Juan Laporte in 1982. Also in the picture was Azumah Nelson of Ghana. Besides these established stars, hot prospect Johnny De La Rosa (DLR) was starting to make some noise out of Miami. He was a Ring Magazine “Prospect of the Month” and had some build up coming into this fight. He was an undefeated 21-0 with 17 KOs and the Dominican Dynamo was in position to move to the next level with a victory over reigning WBC Featherweight Champion Laporte.

Laporte obtained his WBC Featherweight title in September 1982 against Mario Miranda. This was a title bout to fill the vacancy following the tragic death of the fantastic and talented Salvador Sanchez (who had fought Laporte in 1980) that July. Laporte defended his title against Ruben Castillo in February 1983 and was primed for a big summer match up with the rangy and undefeated 20 year old prospect De La Rosa. The fight itself took place on June 25, 1983 in Laporte’s home country of Puerto Rico. Below, we will examine this fight in some detail.

In the first few rounds, De La Rosa took control with excellent gauging of range, showing expert slipping, blocking, and superior mobility. Laporte initially looked to be struggling with the five inch reach disadvantage and even though he landed a few solid punches (and might have stolen the second round), DLR shrugged them off. To offset Laporte, Johnny used fluid movement, good countering, and effective body punching. He also made Laporte swing and miss on the regular, adding to the Puerto Rican’s frustration.

After three rounds: Two to one, De La Rosa.

As De La Rosa looked to continue his positive momentum into the middle rounds, he landed his strongest combination midway through the fourth round. Johnny landed a succession of hard right uppercuts that rocked Laporte. DLR didn’t rush to finish his opponent and paced himself smartly, showing a poise and focus that belied a 20 year old’s lack of experience at the highest level. At the start of the fifth round, the commentator said that DLR was fighting like the champion and Laporte the challenger. Johnny continued to use slick movement and pump-faking to further frustrate his shorter foe. Laporte looked to press and landed a few solid body shots here and there, but he is climbing uphill now. Behind a tight and crisp jab, DLR looks to pull away. In order to win, Laporte needs to completely dominate the remainder of the fight to swing the momentum into his favor. By my account, he is behind five rounds to one at the half way point.

After six rounds: Five to one, De La Rosa.

The seventh round starts with an anxious Laporte chasing DLR around the ring, looking to continue to pile up whatever damage he can inflict onto the body of his taller and quicker opponent. Throughout the 7th and 8th rounds, Laporte found his groove finally and began to land with more consistency. Juan takes rounds seven and eight while De La Rosa got on his bike and scored less than in previous rounds, but does enough to win round 9.

After nine rounds: Five to three with one even, De La Rosa (DLR fouled Laporte and lost a point).

After being out-scored and out-hustled for the most part by Laporte in the middle rounds, De La Rosa comes out firing in the tenth, but Laporte doesn’t back up and looks to hammer DLR with big right hands. Towards the end of the tenth, Laporte rocks De La Rosa with a series of hard right hands and Johnny is out on his feet! The bell rings shortly afterward and saves DLR from further punishment. The eleventh round is less action packed, and neither fighter does any significant damage, but De La Rosa is busier and lands more punches. The twelfth and final round was action packed, as each man knew the fight was close. It appeared that Laporte hurt De La Rosa, but Johnny hung in there and never stopped throwing punches. The final round closes with them both firing away.

After twelve rounds: Six to Five, with one even for the winner, Johnny De La Rosa.

Despite my scoring, Laporte got the decision. This fight was not a highway robbery in the same vein as Chavez/Whitaker, but I firmly believe Johnny De La Rosa did enough to win at least a split decision due to being busier, throwing more punches and dictating the pace a lot better than Laporte. Juan came on stronger in the second half (and had his big moment in the tenth), but I feel DLR had a big enough lead to win, even with the point taken away (without a warning!). Had the result not been a “home town” decision (in my opinion), Johnny De La Rosa could have had a better career, as he continued to win following this fight right up through the Lockridge bout four years later. It could have been Johnny and not Juan who got the big money fight with Wilfredo Gomez.

Despite the loss, following this fight Johnny De La Rosa would win 11 of 12 fights and challenge Rocky Lockridge for the 130lb belt in 1987 (which he lost via TKO), but his career would slide considerably afterward. He finished his career in 1996 with a record of 38-7 with 23 KOs. Juan Laporte would stay a contender and later a gatekeeper after losing his belt to Wilfredo Gomez in 1984. He would go on to fight such top names as Barry McGuigan (L10), Julio Cesar Chavez (L12), John John Molina (L12), Azumah Nelson (L12), and Kostya Tszyu (L10). Laporte finished at 40-17 with 22 KOs.

***Special thanks to my buddies Kenn Kuren, Akbar Abdul Muhammad and the rest of the guys over at Slugger’s Corner. You really know your boxing and your insight and expertise on this particular era in boxing and the Featherweight Division in general is.

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