Juan Martin Coggi

Juan Martin Coggi (born 19 December 1961) is a former boxer from Argentina. A native of Santa Fe Province (he lived as a child until a few years Brandsen, Buenos Aires Province), which was also the birthplace of Carlos Monzón, Coggi was a three-time world light welterweight champion. He had 75 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws, with 44 wins by knockout. He never lost a fight by knockout.

Early boxing career

After a stellar amateur career, Coggi became a professional boxer on 2 April 1982, knocking out Horacio Valdes in four rounds at La Plata. Coggi won seven of his first ten bouts by knockout. The first boxer to last the scheduled distance with him was Viterman Sanchez, who lost a six-round decision to Coggi on 7 May 1982.

Coggi went undefeated for 21 bouts, with 11 knockout wins. Then, on 9 March 1985, he met Adolfo Arce Rossi in Buenos Aires. Arce Rossi became the first boxer to defeat Coggi by outpointing him over ten rounds. After one more win, Coggi fought to a draw over ten rounds with Ramon Collado, on 20 June of that same year.

Coggi went on a six-fight winning streak before he and Collado met again. Once again, Collado held him to a ten-round draw, on 19 July 1986.

On 25 October of that year, Coggi won the Argentine light welterweight title, knocking out Hugo Hernandez in three rounds.

Championship career

Despite having a record that included no one of apparent relevance, the WBA placed Coggi on top of their list of challengers for the world crown at the light welterweight division. After one more win, Coggi challenged for the world title for the first time.

The WBA's world champion, Patrizio Oliva, had dethroned Coggi's countryman, Ubaldo Sacco, to win the world championship. So the fight between Coggi and Oliva generated much interest among Argentine boxing fans. Coggi's first title try was also his first fight abroad, as the fight was held in Ribera, Italy, on 4 July 1987. Coggi caused a minor upset when he knocked out Oliva in three rounds to become world champion.

Like Monzon, Coggi also became well liked in Italy despite the fact he had beaten an Italian for the world championship. Coggi would fight in Italy a number of times during the rest of his career. His first title defense came in Italy, when he knocked out Sang-Ho Lee in two rounds on 7 May 1988.

After beating Lee, he would win four non-title bouts in his country, including two ten-round decisions over Jorge Tejada, who later became a contender in the welterweight division.

For his second defense, Coggi returned to Italy, where he defeated perennial contender Harold Brazier of the United States by a twelve-round unanimous decision on 21 January 1989.

His third defense, on 29 April 1989, was also held in Italy. He defeated future world champion Akinobu Hiranaka by a twelve-round decision. However, this match was controversial for the decision which gave Italian-Argentine boxer Coggi excessive favor, while Coggi was knocked down by Hiranaka twice at 3rd round, and he has been inferior to Hiranaka at performance throughout 12 rounds. Among many boxing fans, there have been the strong voice that the victory should have been given to Hiranaka, since the match was owned by him. After two non title wins, Coggi had four fights in France, beginning with a fourth-round knockout victory over Jesse Williams in another non-title bout.

On 24 March 1990, Coggi beat the former lightweight champion José Luis Ramírez by a twelve-round unanimous decision to retain the title. After beating Danilo Cabrera by knockout in round five, Coggi defended his title in Nice against the relatively unheralded Loreto Garza of Sacramento, California, on 17 August. This time around, it was Coggi's turn to lose in a mild upset, as Garza became the champion by outpointing Coggi over twelve rounds.

On his next fight, held on 11 November at Buenos Aires, Coggi once again outpointed Tejada over ten rounds.

His next fight happened under extremely unlikely circumstances: he was in Sacramento to watch Garza defend his world title and, at the same time, challenge him to a rematch, when one of the boxers to be featured as part of the night's undercard suffered a car accident at the ARCO Arena parking lot and broke his wrist. Coggi took on the role of substitute fighter, and he beat Alberto Alcaraz by a knockout in round seven, 1 December.

Coggi went on to win his next eleven fights, six of them by knockout, before challenging Morris East for the WBA title on 12 January 1993, in Mar del Plata. Coggi became a light welterweight champion for the second time that night when he knocked East out in eight rounds.

On 10 April 1993, he made his first defense of his second reign, knocking out perennial Puerto Rican world title challenger Joe Rivera in seven rounds, in Mar del Plata. Next, he defended against Hiroyuki Yoshino on 23 June. In what marked his Asian debut, Coggi knocked Yoshino out in five rounds, in a fight held in Tokyo, Japan.

He defended his title three more times in 1993. On 13 August, he outpointed Jose Rafael Barbosa over twelve rounds in Buenos Aires, once again, retaining the world title. On 24 September, he knocked out Guillermo Cruz in ten rounds at Tucumán, and then, on 11 December, he closed 1993 by knocking out Eder Gonzalez, also in Tucumán, in the seventh round.

He and Gonzalez had a rematch on 18 March 1994. In what marked Coggi's American debut, he knocked Gonzalez out in three rounds at Las Vegas, Nevada, once again, retaining the title.

Bouts with Frankie Randall

On 17 September 1994, he began a series of three bouts with former Chávez-conqueror Frankie Randall, who relieved Coggi of the title by beating him by a twelve-round unanimous decision. Coggi suffered three knockdowns during the fight.

Coggi had two more wins, then he faced Randall for the second time. Coggi became champion for the third time on 13 January 1996, when he beat Randall by a fifth round technical decision. Randall was controlling the fight when he went down when his feet became tangled with Coggi in the third round. Because Coggi landed a glancing blow as Randall went down, Coggi was credited with a knockdown by the referee. In the fifth round, the two fighters clashed heads and Coggi walked to his corner and lay down. The referee tried to convince Coggi to fight but he was either unwilling or unable to do so. The ringside physician later said that Coggi was coherent and when Coggi was examined at a hospital after the fight, he was given a clean bill of health. The fight went to the scorecards and Coggi was ahead on all judges' cards by one point (due to the knockdown called against Randall in the third round).^[1] Due to the controversial nature of the match, the WBA ordered a third bout between the two rivals.

The third fight between Coggi and Randall came on 16 August, at Buenos Aires. Coggi suffered a knockdown in the second round, which would prove to be pivotal in the end, as Randall pulled a unanimous but close decision to recover the title.

Post-championship career

The rest of his career, Coggi fought second level opposition, posting five wins in a row, three by knockout, before facing another well known fighter. In Coggi's last fight, contended on 29 May 1999, he lost a twelve-round unanimous decision to Michele Piccirillo in Italy.

Retirement

Coggi is now a boxing trainer. His son, Martin Antonio Coggi, is a professional boxer.

Coggi was one of Raúl Alfonsín's favorite boxers: in a rare opportunity for a boxer, President Alfonsín invited Coggi to his presidential home after Coggi became world champion for the first time.

Professional boxing record

75 Wins (44 Knockouts), 5 Defeats, 2 Draw,[2]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	75-5-2	Michele Piccirillo	UD	12	1999-05-29	Bari, Apulia	For WBU Welterweight title.
Win	75-4-2	Dezi Ford	UD	10	1998-05-29	Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas
Win	74-4-2	Silvio Rojas	PTS	8	1998-03-21	Club Acción, Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, Chaco
Win	73-4-2	Santiago Ahumada	RTD	1 (10)	1998-02-21	Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	72-4-2	Agustin Gurrola	KO	4 (10)	1997-09-06	Centro de Educación Física, Ranchos, Buenos Aires
Win	71-4-2	Alberto Zuluaga	KO	2 (10)	1996-12-14	Canal 9 Studios, Buenos Aires
Loss	70-4-2	Frankie Randall	UD	12	1996-08-16	Sociedad Alemana, Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires	Lost WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	70-3-2	Frankie Randall	TD	5 (12)	1996-01-13	Jai Alai Fronton, Miami	Won WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	69-3-2	Hiroyuki Sakamoto	UD	10	1995-05-06	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
Win	68-3-2	Ildemar Jose Paisan	UD	10	1995-04-08	Canal 9 Studios, Buenos Aires
Loss	67-3-2	Frankie Randall	UD	12	1994-09-17	MGM Grand, Las Vegas	Lost WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	67-2-2	Mario Morales	KO	3 (10)	1993-04-17	Buenos Aires
Win	66-2-2	Eder Gonzalez	TKO	3 (12)	1994-03-18	MGM Grand, Las Vegas	Defended WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	65-2-2	Eder Gonzalez	TKO	7 (12)	1993-12-17	Club Defensores de Villa Luján, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán	Defended WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	63-2-2	Guillermo Cruz	TKO	10 (12)	1993-09-24	Club Defensores de Villa Luján, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán	Defended WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	62-2-2	Jose Rafael Barboza	UD	12	1993-08-13	Club Atlético Lanús, Lanús, Buenos Aires	Defended WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	61-2-2	Hiroyuki Yoshino	TKO	5 (12)	1993-06-23	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo	Defended WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	60-2-2	José Antonio Rivera	TKO	7 (12)	1993-04-10	Estadio Super Domo, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires	Defended WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	59-2-2	Domingo Martínez	KO	3	1993-02-22	Estadio Super Domo, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	58-2-2	Morris East	TKO	8 (12)	1993-01-12	Estadio Super Domo, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires	Won WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	57-2-2	Juan Alberto Contreras	KO	8 (10)	1992-09-11	Bella Vista, Buenos Aires
Win	56-2-2	Eduardo Jacques	KO	6	1992-08-14	Buenos Aires
Win	55-2-2	Francisco Frasqueri	PTS	10	1992-05-02	Buenos Aires
Win	54-2-2	Julián Rodriguez	KO	3 (10)	1992-04-03	La Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	53-2-2	Joseph Alexander	PTS	10	1991-11-17	Carpentras, Vaucluse
Win	52-2-2	Juan Alberto Contreras	KO	10	1991-09-06	Buenos Aires
Win	51-2-2	Fernando Segura	KO	7	1991-07-27	Buenos Aires
Win	50-2-2	Francisco Cuesta	PTS	10	1991-06-29	Buenos Aires
Win	49-2-2	Ricardo Espinosa	KO	5 (10)	1991-04-13	San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy
Win	48-2-2	Dwayne Swift	PTS	8	1991-03-07	Palacio de Deportes, Madrid, Madrid
Win	47-2-2	Nestor Gil	PTS	10	1990-12-21	Cañuelas, Buenos Aires
Win	46-2-2	Alberto Alcaraz	TKO	7 (10)	1990-12-01	ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Win	45-2-2	Jorge Tejada	PTS	10	1990-11-10	Villa Dolores, Córdoba
Loss	44-2-2	Loreto Garza	MD	12	1990-04-23	Palais des Congrès Acropolis, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes	Lost WBA Light Welterweight title.
Win	44-1-2	Danilo Cabrera	KO	5	1990-04-23	Nogent-le-Phaye, Eure-et-Loir
Win	43-1-2	José Luis Ramírez	UD	12	1990-03-24	Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud	Defends WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	42-1-2	Jesse Williams	KO	4 (8)	1989-12-30	Amiens, Somme
Win	41-1-2	Antonio Ojeda	PTS	10	1989-10-14	Concordia, Entre Ríos
Win	40-1-2	Omar Alegre	TKO	9 (10)	1989-09-22	Córdoba, Córdoba
Win	39-1-2	Akinobu Hiranaka	UD	12	1989-04-29	Palazzo dello Sport, Vasto, Abruzzo	Defends WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	38-1-2	Raul Bianco	KO	2 (10)	1989-02-25	Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba
Win	37-1-2	Harold Brazier	UD	12	1989-01-21	Palazzo dello Sport, Vasto, Abruzzo	Defends WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	36-1-2	Jorge Tejada	PTS	10	1988-12-02	Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	35-1-2	Jorge Tejada	PTS	10	1988-10-14	Guernica, Buenos Aires
Win	34-1-2	Osvaldo Maldonado	KO	6 (10)	1988-08-12	Trelew, Chubut
Win	33-1-2	Lee Sang-Ho	KO	2 (12)	1988-05-07	Roseto degli Abruzzi, Abruzzo	Defends WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	32-1-2	Mario Araya	KO	6 (10)	1988-02-19	Catamarca, Catamarca
Win	31-1-2	Patrizio Oliva	KO	3 (15)	1987-07-04	Palazzo dello Sport, Ribera, Sicily	Won WBA Light Welterweight title
Win	30-1-2	José Magarino	KO	5 (10)	1987-04-04	General Roca, Río Negro
Win	29-1-2	Hugo Hernandez	KO	3 (12)	1986-10-25	Luna Park, Buenos Aires	Won Argentina Light Welterweight Title.
Draw	28-1-2	Ramon Collado	PTS	10	1986-07-19	La Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	28-1-1	Jose Luis Saldivia	KO	2 (10)	1986-06-14	Santa María, Córdoba
Win	27-1-1	Edecio Molina Ortiz	PTS	10	1986-04-05	Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Win	26-1-1	Sergio Brites	KO	5 (10)	1986-03-07	Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	25-1-1	Ruben Verdun	TD	7 (10)	1985-10-26	Rojas, Buenos Aires
Win	24-1-1	Oscar Sosa	RTD	7 (10)	1985-08-31	Rojas, Buenos Aires
Draw	23-1-1	Ramon Collado	PTS	10	1985-06-20	Las Flores, Buenos Aires
Win	23-1-0	Ramon Jara	TKO	7 (10)	1985-05-11	Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Loss	22-1-0	Adolfo Omar Arce Rossi	PTS	10	1985-03-09	Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Win	22-0-0	Miguel Angel Pereyra	PTS	10	1985-02-22	Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	21-0-0	Marcelo Villagra	PTS	10	1984-11-11
Win	20-0-0	Ramon Collado	PTS	10	1984-09-01	Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Win	19-0-0	Pedro Gutierrez	KO	1 (10)	1984-08-10	La Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	18-0-0	Ricardo Espinosa	TKO	2 (10)	1984-06-23	Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Win	17-0-0	Ricardo Espinosa	PTS	10	1984-03-09	Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	16-0-0	Marcelo Villagra	PTS	10	1984-02-10	Las Flores, Buenos Aires
Win	15-0-0	Romulo Ibarra	PTS	10	1983-12-23	Brandsen, Buenos Aires
Win	14-0-0	Anibal Ozuna	KO	2 (10)	1983-12-07	Buenos Aires
Win	13-0-0	Apolinario Romero	PTS	10	1983-11-09	Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Win	12-0-0	Anibal Ozuna	PTS	10	1983-10-14	La Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	11-0-0	Sergio Brites	KO	2 (10)	1983-06-15	Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Win	10-0-0	Apolinario Romero	PTS	10	1983-05-18	Buenos Aires
Win	9-0-0	Carlos Fallone	KO	7 (10)	1983-04-08	José C. Paz, Buenos Aires
Win	8-0-0	Osvaldo Colros	KO	1 (10)	1983-02-11	Brandsen, Buenos Aires
Win	7-0-0	Norberto Ramirez	PTS	8	1982-12-10	Brandsen, Buenos Aires
Win	6-0-0	Carlos Fallone	KO	7 (8)	1982-11-12	Brandsen, Buenos Aires
Win	5-0-0	Rogelio Florentin	KO	2 (6)	1982-10-27	Brandsen, Buenos Aires
Win	4-0-0	Felipe Baez	TKO	4 (10)	1982-09-10	Brandsen, Buenos Aires
Win	3-0-0	Raul Gramasco	KO	2 (6)	1982-06-11	Brandsen, Buenos Aires
Win	2-0-0	Viterman Sanchez	PTS	6	1982-05-07	La Plata, Buenos Aires
Win	1-0-0	Horacio Valdez	KO	4 (6)	1982-04-02	La Plata, Buenos Aires

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Juan Martin Coggi from BoxRec