Gregorio Peralta

Born	Gregorio Manuel Peralta (1935-05-08)May 8, 1935 San Juan, Argentina
Died	October 3, 2001(2001-10-03) (aged 66)
Other names	Goyo
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Reach	77 in (196 cm)
Stance	Orthodox

Boxing record
Total fights	116
Wins	98
Wins by KO	60
Losses	9
Draws	9

Gregorio Manuel Peralta (May 8, 1935 – October 3, 2001), better known as Gregorio "Goyo" Peralta, was a top Argentine boxer. Peralta enjoyed success as both a light heavyweight and a heavyweight, one of a select group Latin American Heavyweights to attain world-class status. (John Ruiz and later Andy Ruiz are the only Hispanics to be world Heavyweight champion in boxing history.) Greg Peralta was a popular performer during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Biography

Gregorio Peralta was born in San Juan. He later resided in the area of Rosario, in Santa Fe Province.

On April 5, 1958, he made his professional boxing debut, knocking out a rival (Rene Pereira) who had lost all fourteen of his bouts. Peralta's fourth-round knockout of Pereira was at the legendary Luna Park, in Buenos Aires.

Peralta won his first five fights by knockout, then went the ten round distance for the first time on September 6 of that same year, against Jose Angel Manzur, whom he outpointed over ten rounds in Montevideo, Uruguay. His first fight abroad had already been held, when he beat Marcelo Farias by a second-round knockout 35 days before, also at Montevideo.

On October 22, he and Manzur had a rematch, with the two boxers drawing (tying) after ten more rounds.

On March 31, 1959, Peralta suffered his first loss as a professional, a ten-round decision defeat to then reigning South American light heavyweight champion Luis Ignacio in São Paulo, Brazil in a non-title bout. Peralta had one loss and two draws in his next three fights, but then he returned to winning, when he avenged his defeat against Ignacio by knocking him out in three rounds, August 23 in Brazil.

After winning his next five fights, including four in Uruguay, Peralta faced Mauro Mina, in a widely expected light heavyweight bout between two South Americans. On June 15, 1960, Peralta was knocked out by Mina in eight rounds at Lima, Peru.

Peralta then won twelve and drew one of his next thirteen bouts. Among those were a ten-round decision in a rubber match with Manzur, and a four-round disqualification win over Aurelio Diaz. Peralta was given his first chance at winning a belt when he fought Jose Giorgetti, on August 4, 1962, at Mar del Plata for the Argentine Heavyweight title. He won the national belt by outpointing Giorgetti over twelve rounds, and then won fifteen more bouts in a row, for a total of 24 victories and one draw in twenty-five bouts.

Beats Pastrano

The biggest win of his career came during that streak, when he outpointed world light heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano over ten rounds at Miami, Florida on September 20, 1963 in a non-title bout. His first fight with Pastrano marked Peralta's United States debut as a professional boxer.

Pastrano – light heavyweight title

Peralta's next fight, on November 15 of that year, was also his first bout at New York's Madison Square Garden. He beat future José Torres world championship challenger, Wayne Thornton, by a ten-round decision there. After two more wins, including another one over Thornton, Peralta was given a shot at Pastrano's world Light-Heavyweight title, on April 10, 1964 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Pastrano retained the championship with a sixth-round knockout in a fight that had different views from boxing magazines; while the general consensus is that Pastrano was actually winning the fight when it was stopped, Ring En Español actually claimed twenty years later that Peralta was hitting Pastrano and had him against the ropes when the referee intervened and raised Pastrano's arm as the fight's winner. The truth is a cut opened in the second Thornton fight re-opened during Peralta's challenge of Pastrano and the bout was, to some hastily, to others justifiably, halted.

Bonavena takes Argentine title

Peralta went on to win nine of his next ten fights, including a rematch victory over Mauro Mina, outpointed in ten rounds at Buenos Aires on September 19 of '64, before defending his Argentine Heavyweight title for the first time, and losing it, to Oscar Bonavena by a twelve-round decision on September 4, 1965 in Buenos Aires. They'd rematch four years later.

Peralta then went undefeated over his next 32 bouts, building a record of twenty nine wins and three draws, with seventeen knockouts over that span. Among the highlights of those thirty two bouts were three ninth round disqualifications in a row (over Ron Marsh on March 11, 1968, and two over Felipe Pablo Marich, on April 5 and April 20 of that same year), a ten-round decision over Ramón Rocha on August 23, and a draw in a non-title rematch with Bonavena, held on August 8, 1969.

Foreman

After the Bonavena rematch, he would face George Foreman, in a fight that was nationally televised in the United States, on February 16, 1970, once again at the Madison Square Garden. His now fighting weight being around 200 lbs, Peralta had left the light-heavyweight scene way back.^[1] Foreman was the rising ex-Olympic star and Peralta then ranked 9th world contender was predicted to be George's biggest test to date. Foreman held an aura as an awesome knockout artist but Peralta doggedly went ten full rounds with the future two time world Heavyweight champion. He lost a unanimous decision to Foreman. But Peralta won the crowds admiration for a gutsy good performance. He used his boxing skill and mobility to show Foreman was open to fast well placed counters and tended to somewhat unravel in the later part of matches. It's thought Ali studied this among other Foreman matches in his preparation the legendary 'Rumble in the Jungle' victory.

Peralta's next bout came when he beat future world Light Heavyweight title challenger Piero del Papa, by a fifth-round knockout on June 6 at Montevideo.

His next bout marked his European debut, when he defeated Herbert Wick, exactly sixteen days after the fight with del Papa, by a second-round knockout in Barcelona, Spain. Peralta had three consecutive bouts in Spain, winning each of by knockout.

Foreman rematch

After two more wins, he faced Foreman again, at Oakland, California, this time with the NABF's vacant regional Heavyweight title on the line. Once again, Peralta fought ten rounds with Foreman, but he was knocked out in the tenth, on May 10, 1971. His two Foreman matches are fine achievements.

Peralta then moved to Spain for a one year. With the exception of a victory over Gerhard Zech on December 3 over at Germany, Peralta fought nine of his next ten bouts in Spain. These included a ten-round win over perennial contender Jose Urtain on October 8, a win over Leroy Caldwell by a fourth-round knockout on February 2, 1972, and a ten-round decision loss to Bob Foster world Light Heavyweight title challenger Ray Anderson on June 9 of that same year.

Ron Lyle twice

After the loss to Anderson, Peralta would move again, this time to Germany, and he won his next six bouts by knockout. A loss to top world title contender Ron Lyle, however, took place on May 12, 1973 at Denver, Colorado. Peralta lost to Lyle by a ten-round decision.

Peralta won his next two bouts by knockout in Germany, and then in a rematch held Lyle to a ten-round draw in Frankfurt, Germany. Peralta aged 38 years retired for good after the match.

Gregorio Peralta had an admirable record. It contained 98 wins, 9 defeats and 9 draws as a professional boxer, with 60 knockout wins, which places him in the exclusive group of boxers that won fifty or more fights by knockout during their career.

He led a quiet life after retiring, dying on October 3, 2001.

Professional boxing record

98 Wins (60 knockouts), 9 Losses (3 knockouts), 9 Draws[2] Res. Record Opponent Type RoundTime Date Location Notes Draw 98–9–9 Ron Lyle PTS 10 1973–11–17 Frankfurt, Hesse Win 98–9–8 Johnny Griffin KO 5 (10) 1973–10–26 Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia Win 97–9–8 Billy Aird TKO 4 (10) 1973–09–21 Hamburg Loss 96–9–8 Ron Lyle PTS 10 1973–05–12 Denver Coliseum,Denver, Colorado Win 96–8–8 Ba Sounkalo TKO 10 (10) 1973–04–06 Hamburg Win 95–8–8 Ronnie Wright KO 6 (10) 1973–02–16 Sporthalle,Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia Win 94–8–8 Horst Benedens KO 3 (10) 1972–12–08 Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia Win 93–8–8 Arno Prick KO 3 (10) 1972–11–24 Hamburg Win 92–8–8 Conny Venselek TKO 4 (10) 1972–10–13 Hamburg Win 91–8–8 Bill Drover TKO 6 (10) 1972–09–15 Barcelona, Catalonia Loss 90–8–8 Ray Anderson PTS 10 1972–06–09 Madrid, Community of Madrid Win 90–7–8 Willie Johnson KO 2 (10) 1972–03–18 Valencia, Valencian Community Win 89–7–8 Leroy Caldwell KO 4 (10) 1972–03–03 Madrid, Community of Madrid Win 88–7–8 Vernon McIntosh TKO 8 (10) 1972–02–02 Bilbao, Basque Country Win 87–7–8 Rocky Campbell TKO 3 (10) 1971–12–07 Madrid, Community of Madrid Win 86–7–8 Gerhard Zech KO 8 (10) 1971–12–03 Frankfurt, Hesse Win 85–7–8 José Manuel Urtain TKO 8 (10)2:15 1971–10–08 Palacio de Deportes,Madrid, Community of Madrid Win 84–7–8 Danny Machado KO 1 (10) 1971–09–10 Plaza de Toros de Bilbao,Bilbao, Basque Country Win 83–7–8 Jesse Billy Crown KO 1 (10)0:30 1971–07–16 Campo del Gas,Madrid, Community of Madrid Loss 82–7–8 George Foreman TKO 10 (15) 1971–05–10 Oakland Coliseum Arena,Oakland, California For vacant NABF Heavyweight title. Win 82–6–8 Humberto Ghiotti KO 2 (10) 1971–03–06 Coronel Pringles, Buenos Aires Win 81–6–8 Alfredo Vogrig TKO 5 (10) 1970–12–18 Palacio de Deportes,Madrid, Community of Madrid Win 80–6–8 Roger Tighe TKO 8 (10) 1970–09–01 Bilbao, Basque Country Win 79–6–8 Herbert Wick KO 3 (10) 1970–06–22 Barcelona, Catalonia Win 78–6–8 Piero del Papa RTD 5 (10) 1970–06–06 Montevideo, Montevideo Loss 77–6–8 George Foreman UD 10 1970–02–16 Madison Square Garden,New York City Draw 77–5–8 Oscar Bonavena PTS 10 1969–08–08 Palacio Peñarol,Montevideo, Montevideo Win 77–5–7 José Menno PTS 10 1969–01–15 Estadio Bristol,Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Win 76–5–7 José Menno PTS 10 1968–12–27 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Win 75–5–7 Marcelo Garnica KO 3 (10) 1968–12–07 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Win 74–5–7 René Sosa KO 4 (10) 1968–11–15 Estadio Norte,Rosario, Santa Fe Win 73–5–7 Francisco Ramos TKO 5 (10) 1968–11–10 Club Córdoba,Corrientes, Corrientes Win 72–5–7 Hugo Daniele TKO 7 (10) 1968–10–19 Club Pacífico,Neuquén, Neuquén Win 71–5–7 Roberto Veliz KO 2 (10) 1968–10–04 Trelew, Chubut Win 70–5–7 Dick Hall PTS 10 1968–09–14 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 69–5–7 Ramón Rocha PTS 10 1968–08–23 Rosario, Santa Fe Win 68–5–7 Miguel Angel Paez PTS 10 1968–08–10 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 67–5–7 Kurt Luedecke TKO 4 (10) 1968–07–05 San Rafael, Mendoza Draw 66–5–7 Vittorio Saraudi PTS 10 1968–05–05 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 66–5–6 Felipe Marich DQ 9 (10) 1968–04–20 San Juan, San Juan Win 65–5–6 Felipe Marich DQ 9 (10) 1968–04–05 La Rioja, La Rioja Win 64–5–6 Ron Marsh DQ 9 (10) 1968–03–11 San Juan, San Juan Win 63–5–6 Carlos Paez TKO 3 (10) 1968–03–08 Río Cuarto, Córdoba Draw 62–5–6 Chuck Leslie PTS 10 1967–12–20 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 62–5–5 Felipe Marich TKO 4 (10) 1967–11–24 Córdoba, Córdoba Win 61–5–5 Chuck Leslie PTS 10 1967–11–12 Buenos Aires Win 60–5–5 Justo Benitez TKO 5 (10) 1967–10–21 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 59–5–5 José Menno UD 10 1967–10–07 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 58–5–5 René Sosa TKO 6 (10) 1967–09–15 Trelew, Chubut Win 57–5–5 Angel Ludueña KO 4 (10) 1967–08–18 Cipolletti, Río Negro Win 56–5–5 Hugo Daniele TKO 6 (10) 1967–08–04 Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Win 55–5–5 Andrés Selpa UD 10 1967–07–15 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 54–5–5 Hugo Daniele PTS 10 1967–07–01 Estadio Parque de Mayo,San Juan, San Juan Win 53–5–5 Carlos Vazquez KO 3 (10) 1967–06–09 Boxing Club,Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz Win 52–5–5 Alberto Hergerseimer KO 3 (10) 1967–05–28 Saavedra, Buenos Aires Win 51–5–5 Hugo Daniele PTS 10 1967–05–19 Córdoba, Córdoba Win 50–5–5 Carlos Paez KO 3 (10) 1967–05–05 Salón de los Deportes,Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Win 49–5–5 René Sosa KO 5 (10) 1966–11–05 Azul, Buenos Aires Loss 48–5–5 Oscar Bonavena UD 12 1965–09–04 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Lost Argentine Heavyweight title. Win 48–4–5 René Sosa KO 3 (10) 1965–08–06 Córdoba, Córdoba Win 47–4–5 Miguel Angel Paez PTS 10 1965–07–10 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Win 46–4–5 René Sosa KO 3 (10) 1965–06–01 Córdoba, Córdoba Draw 45–4–5 Miguel Angel Paez PTS 10 1965–05–24 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Win 45–4–4 Lino Armenteros TKO 6 (10) 1965–05–08 Buenos Aires Win 44–4–4 Aníbal Córdoba PTS 10 1965–03–27 Tapalqué, Buenos Aires Win 43–4–4 Mauro Mina UD 10 1964–09–20 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 42–4–4 Pablo Sagrispanti TKO 5 (10) 1964–09–05 Rivadavia, Mendoza Win 41–4–4 Juan Morales TKO 3 (10) 1964–08–22 Palacio Peñarol,Montevideo, Montevideo Win 40–4–4 Roberto Davila PTS 15 1964–07–18 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Won South American Heavyweight titles. Loss 39–4–4 Willie Pastrano TKO 5 (15)3:00 1964–04–10 Municipal Auditorium,New Orleans, Louisiana For WBA and WBC Light heavyweight titles. Win 39–3–4 Wayne Thornton UD 10 1964–01–24 Madison Square Garden,New York City Win 38–3–4 Telmo Gonzalez KO 2 (10) 1963–12–21 Azul, Buenos Aires Win 37–3–4 Wayne Thornton SD 10 1963–11–15 Madison Square Garden,New York City Win 36–3–4 Willie Pastrano UD 10 1963–09–20 Miami Beach Auditorium,Miami Beach, Florida Win 35–3–4 Telmo Gonzalez KO 1 (10) 1963–08–02 Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz Win 34–3–4 Justo Benitez TKO 6 (10) 1963–07–05 Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz Win 33–3–4 Justo Benitez PTS 10 1963–05–03 San Juan, Argentina Win 32–3–4 Guillermo Dutschmann TKO 9 (10) 1963–04–13 Buenos Aires Win 31–3–4 Justo Benitez PTS 10 1963–02–22 Estadio Julio Mocoroa,San Juan, Argentina Win 30–3–4 Alfredo Yacanto PTS 10 1963–02–01 San Juan, Argentina Win 29–3–4 Pablo Sagrispanti PTS 10 1963–01–25 San Juan, Argentina Win 28–3–4 Jorge Tissera KO 3 (10) 1962–12–21 San Juan, Argentina Win 27–3–4 Rodolfo Diaz PTS 10 1962–12–02 Buenos Aires Win 26–3–4 Justo Benitez PTS 10 1962–11–03 Buenos Aires Win 25–3–4 Justo Benitez PTS 12 1962–09–19 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Retained Argentine Heavyweight title. Win 24–3–4 José Giorgetti PTS 12 1962–08–04 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Won Argentine Heavyweight title. Win 23–3–4 Antonio Diaz PTS 10 1962–06–16 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Win 22–3–4 Carlos Paiva KO 5 (10) 1962–05–18 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Win 21–3–4 José Giorgetti UD 10 1962–04–14 Estadio Bristo,Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Win 20–3–4 Andres Villalba TKO 3 (10) 1962–03–02 Tapalqué, Buenos Aires Win 19–3–4 Aurelio Diaz DQ 4 (10) 1961–12–15 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Win 18–3–4 Pablo Sagrispanti PTS 10 1961–11–24 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Win 17–3–4 José Angel Mazur PTS 10 1961–10–25 Buenos Aires Win 16–3–4 Antonio Diaz PTS 10 1961–09–15 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Draw 15–3–4 Antonio Diaz PTS 10 1961–08–04 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Win 15–3–3 Pablo Sagrispanti PTS 10 1961–06–09 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Win 14–3–3 Ricardo Gonzalez TKO 6 (10) 1961–05–05 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Win 13–3–3 Carloz Vazquez PTS 10 1961–04–14 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Win 12–3–3 Hector Wilson TKO 4 (10) 1960–08–16 Azul, Buenos Aires Province Loss 11–3–3 Mauro Mina KO 8 (10) 1960–06–19 Tribuna Norte,Lima Win 11–2–3 Juan Carlos Comini KO 7 (10) 1959–12–09 Palacio Peñarol,Montevideo Win 10–2–3 Jovito Arregui PTS 10 1959–10–31 Montevideo Win 9–2–3 Andrés Villalba KO 2 (10) 1959–10–03 Montevideo Win 8–2–3 Aurelio Diaz TKO 2 (10)3:00 1959–09–12 Palacio Peñarol,Montevideo Win 7–2–3 Luis Ignacio KO 3 (10) 1959–08–23 Rio de Janeiro Draw 6–2–3 Aurelio Diaz PTS 10 1959–07–24 Estádio do Ibirapuera,Rio de Janeiro Loss 6–2–2 Justo Benitez PTS 10 1959–06–03 Montevideo Draw 6–1–2 Aurelio Diaz PTS 4 1959–05–03 Montevideo Loss 6–1–1 Luis Ignacio PTS 10 1959–03–31 São Paulo Draw 6–0–1 José Angel Mazur PTS 10 1958–10–22 Montevideo Win 6–0 José Angel Mazur PTS 10 1958–09–06 Palacio Peñarol,Montevideo Win 5–0 Justo Benitez TKO 5 (6) 1958–08–09 Montevideo Win 4–0 Marcelo Farias TKO 2 (6) 1958–08–02 Palacio Peñarol,Montevideo Win 3–0 Julio Buffi KO 2 (6) 1958–05–09 Quilmes, Buenos Aires Win 2–0 Tomas Lenning TKO 3 (6) 1958–04–19 Luna Park, Buenos Aires Win 1–0 Rene Pereyra TKO 4 (6) 1958–04–05 Luna Park, Buenos Aires

Exhibition boxing record

1 fight	0 wins	0 losses
Non-scored	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
1	—	0–0 (1)	Muhammad Ali	—	8	Aug 1, 1972	La Monumental, Barcelona, Spain	Non-scored bout