Argentine boxing mourns Horacio Accavallo. The former WBA flyweight world champion born in the popular neighborhood of Villa Diamante, Lanús, on October 14, 1934, died this Wednesday at the age of 87. He was the second Argentine boxer to reach the maximum conquest after Pascual Perez (also fly).
Accavallo came into the world in the bosom of a humble family: his father earned his living collecting cardboard and rags in the dumps of Villa Soldati.
Boxing was his destiny. He began his practice in the 1950s. and as an amateur boxer he carried out an outstanding and extensive campaign, a requirement of those times to enter the rented world of fists.
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He made his first fight as a professional on September 21, 1956 in the Federal Capital when he defeated Emilio Ávila by technical knockout in five laps. He was world champion at the age of 32 in Tokyo, where he knew glory.
On October 11, 1968, Accavallo, after a training session at the Luna Park gym, went to the office of Juan Carlos “Tito” Lectoure to inform him of his retirement from activity because the body “no longer responded”.
That was an unexpected, exemplary and understandable decision of a boxer who was aware of his reality, after successfully defend the crown three times: against the Japanese Hiroyuki Ebihara (twice) and the Mexican José “Alacrán” Torres.
In the professional field, He made 83 fights with a balance of 75 wins (34 ko), 2 setbacks and 6 draws. After his retirement, he was a successful sportswear entrepreneur with a network of stores called “Accavallo Deportes”.
Accavallo, historic in Tokyo
Horacio Accavallo He became the second Argentine world champion in history on March 1, 1966. when in Tokyo he won the WBA flyweight title, after defeating the local Katsuyoshi Takayama in a majority decision in 15 rounds.
Accavallo conquered the ecumenical scepter of the WBA flyweights at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, the same city where 11 years earlier, Pascual Pérez from Mendoza had been crowned the first monarch in the history of Argentine boxing by defeating the Japanese Yoshio Shirai, the November 26, 1954.
The popular “Roquiño” came to that title fight against Takayama at 31 years old, after being crowned Argentine and South American champion, an inescapable requirement to venture among the best exponents of the universe and have a World Cup opportunity.
The fight against Takayama was intense and vibrant. When the bell rang to start the first assault, the Japanese forgot the traditional courtesy and without saying hello hit him in the face that caused a cut to his left cheekbone.
But that circumstance did not prevent Accavallo from dominating his difficult and “dirty” opponent, although a judge gave him the fight as a loser (70-71) while the remaining two did justice and ruled in his favor (73-69 and 74-67 ).
The southpaw Accavallo has never been beaten by an Argentine boxer in his extensive career: he only lost away to the Italian Salvatore Burruni and the Japanese Kiyoshi Tanabe, in fights without any title at stake.