Javier Castillejo honoured by the WBC
Javier Castillejo was named ESPABOX Spanish fighter of the year 11 times!
Two-weight world champion Javier Castillejo (62-8-1, 43KO), known as “Lince de Parla”, is a veritable legend of Spanish sport and was greeted at WBC Martes a Cafe in Sports and Chips, Mexico City, this week.
Considered by many experts as the most important boxer in the history of his country. He had an outstanding 21-year career in which he competed 71 times, with just eight defeats. Of those eight losses, seven were to world champions.
On January 29, 1999 Castillejo Rodríguez was proclaimed world champion for the first time, in the super welterweight division.
That night in the Leganés bullring, Madrid, Spain, the “Lince de Parla” challenged Keith Mullings, the world champion who came to that event with the nickname “Brooklyn Assassin”, but 12 rounds later he lost the belt. The special Spaniard defended the green and gold belt six times over two and a half years, eventually conceding the title to Óscar de la Hoya, via UD, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, in June 2001.
Later in his career he managed to win the 160-pound title, becoming the only boxer from Spain to have been crowned world champion in two different divisions, facing great boxers Óscar de la Hoya, Keith Mullings, Fernando Vargas and Julio César Vásquez.
It was July 2006 when Castillejo stopped German Felix Sturm in 10 rounds in his own backyard in Hamburg to be crowned WBA super-middleweight champion.
Visiting the WBC weekly press conference, the great Spanish world champion, who is still slim, fit and trim, received a well-deserved tribute from the World Boxing Council plus a WBC Champion’s Bracelet.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said, “The World Boxing Council designed this special bracelet to recognize the careers of those who conquered Green and Gold Glory. We know you can’t walk around with your championship belts, and for this very reason I present you with this bracelet, champ.
“You are one of the great sporting glories of Spain and we are very proud of the way you represented us, Congratulations, Lince.”
Javier Castillejo added, “I started boxing hiding it from my mother and became a world champion. I had a career of more than 20 years, with many achievements, great fights and a lot of heart. Boxing gave me everything, and I am very proud of everything I achieved. It is an honor for me to be here in Mexico.”
The President of the World Boxing Council also took the opportunity to talk about the humanitarian side of the champion, recalling that, in 2020, he received the special designation: WBC “Hero of Humanity”, since in the gravest moments of crisis during the Pandemic, with the coolest courage, greatest poise, and most magnificent gallantry, he joined the ranks of the Red Cross to support elderly people who could not leave their homes.
Without a doubt, Javier Castillejo is a great champion and a great man!
Article sponsored by HÖRFA