Rodolfo Casanova

{{Short description|Mexican boxer (1915–1980)}} {{Infobox boxer|name= Rodolfo Casanova |image= Rodolfo Chango Casanova.tif |realname = Rodolfo Casanova |nickname = Baby |weight = Lightweight<br />Featherweight<br />Super bantamweight<br />Bantamweight |height = 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) |reach = 67 in (170 cm) |birth_date = June 21, 1915 |death_date = {{death date and age|1980|11|23|1915|6|21}} |birth_place = León, Guanajuato, Mexico |style = Orthodox |total = 75 |wins = 57 |KO = 31 |losses = 17 |draws = 1 |no contests = }} '''Rodolfo Casanova''', also known as '''''Baby'' Casanova''' or '''''Chango'' Casanova''' (June 21, 1915 – November 23, 1980) was a Mexican professional boxer. He was also the first Mexican to fight a Puerto Rican in the Mexico – Puerto Rico boxing rivalry.<ref name="max">{{cite web |last1=Mulcahey |first1=Marty |title=History of a Blood Feud |url=http://www.maxboxing.com/news/main-lead/history-of-a-blood-feud |website=Max Boxing |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110928221022/http://www.maxboxing.com/news/main-lead/history-of-a-blood-feud |archive-date=28 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Early life== Rodolfo was born during the Mexican Revolution, his father Don Rafael Casanova died in that war. His mother moved the family to Mexico City after the death.<ref name="uni">{{cite web |title=Layendas del Salón |url=http://archivo.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid=2106818 |website=Univision}}</ref> Casanova grew up very poor and started boxing only after his older brother Carlos, an amateur boxer, had no official government backing to attend the 1928 Summer Olympics.<ref name="solly">{{cite web |title="Solly" Smith |url=http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/smith-s.htm |website=Cyber Boxing Zone}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2024}}

==Professional career==

===World Bantamweight Championship=== In his first attempt at a world title, Casanova lost to Sixto Escobar the World Bantamweight Champion. This would be the first world title fight between a Mexican and a Puerto Rican.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Sixto_Escobar_vs._Rodolfo_(Baby)_Casanova|title=Sixto Escobar vs. Rodolfo (Baby) Casanova |website=BoxRec}}</ref>{{user-generated source|date=January 2024}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{boxrec|id=9561}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casanova, Rodolfo}} Category:Boxers from Guanajuato Category:Sportspeople from León, Guanajuato Category:Featherweight boxers Category:1915 births Category:1980 deaths Category:Mexican male boxers Category:20th-century Mexican sportsmen