Argentine boxing great Jorge 'Locomotora' Castro dies aged 59
The former WBA middleweight champion died overnight into Wednesday in Buenos Aires province. His knockout of John David Jackson was named 1994 Fight of the Year.
Archive image · Photo: Laura Fiorucci / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Jorge "Locomotora" Castro has died. According to Infobae, the Argentine collapsed overnight into Wednesday at a bingo hall in Morón, Buenos Aires province, and could not be saved despite first aid. Castro was 59.
Born on August 18, 1967, in Caleta Olivia, Castro won the vacant WBA middleweight title against Reggie Johnson on August 12, 1994. He became famous for his win over John David Jackson in Monterrey in December 1994: badly hurt, Castro still knocked out his opponent in the ninth round – The Ring named it Fight of the Year. He lost the title to Shinji Takehara in Tokyo in December 1995.
In a career from 1987 to 2007, Castro faced Roy Jones Jr., Terry Norris and Roberto Durán among others and finished with 130 wins (90 by knockout), 11 losses and 3 draws. In recent years, Infobae reports, he helped run soup kitchens for families in need.