Romeo Anaya


Romeo Anaya was a Mexican boxer in the Super Bantamweight division. He was the Lineal and WBA World Bantamweight Champion.

Pro career

Anaya became the world bantamweight champion when he defeated Lineal and WBA Bantamweight Champion Enrique Pinder of Panama on January 20, 1973. On November 3, 1973, Anaya met Arnold Taylor in a match refereed by Stanley Christodoulou in Johannesburg in South Africa. The 14 round fight is considered by many to be one of boxing's classic fights. One South African sportswriter called it "the bloodiest fight in South African boxing history". Taylor suffered a cut and was knocked down once in round five and three times in round eight. Nevertheless, Taylor also cut the champion, and, in round fourteen, he connected with a right hand to Anaya's jaw, sending him to the floor. Feeling that this was his moment to become a world champion, Taylor screamed to his trainers: "He's gone!" from a neutral corner. It took Anaya two minutes to get up, and Taylor won the Lineal and WBA Bantamweight titles.

Retirement

During his boxing career, which ran from 1967 to 1980, Anaya held the Lineal and WBA Bantamweight Championship of the World in 1973 and the Bantamweight Championship of Mexico in 1971.