Remembering Mike Anchondo One Tough Warrior!
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By Daniel Sisneros
La Puente, California’s “Mighty” Mike Anchondo turned pro on May 6, 2000. He started fast, and by the end of the year he was 8-0 winning all 8 by knockout.
The hard hitting Lightweight continued his unbeaten streak, gaining his first title belt in January of 2003, with a shutout unanimous decision victory over Angel Rios at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. That win gave him the WBC Youth Jr. Lightweight title.
Anchondo was now 20-0, 16 KO and gaining lots of attention as a top prospect, and now contender. It was expected that he would soon get a world title shot.
That shot came on July 15, 2004. He squared off with the former WBO Featherweight champion – Argentina’s Julio Pablo Chacon (50-5) for the vacant WBO Jr. Lightweight world title. The title bout was shown on HBO and it was a great showcase for the unbeaten Anchondo to win a title and be seen by a huge audience. He performed brilliantly, winning almost every round, and capping it off with a knockdown of Chacon in the final round. He was now the undefeated world champion.
8 months later he defended his title against another Argentina favorite – Jorge “La Hiena” Barrios (42-2-1), the former WBU Jr. Lightweight world champion. The bout was staged in Miami, Florida. Anchondo lost his title, and suffered his first loss as a pro. The bout was televised on espn2. It was a 4th round stoppage in a bout that Barrios controlled from start to finish.
Mike bounced back with 2 straight wins against good level opponents. He then lost to well respected contender Darling Jimenez (22-2-2). After taking the year of 2008 off, he put together a string of 3 straight wins as a welterweight. He fought his final match on Sept. 17, 2010 at the Buffalo Bill’s Arena in Primm, Nevada in a bout aired on Showtime. It was a 4th round tko loss to Freddy Hernandez (28-1), and it was Mike’s final bout.
The California star thrilled boxing fans for a decade. He was a world champion, and was always exciting to watch in the ring.
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