Punchers from the Past: Gregorio “Goyo” Peralta
By Eric Armit
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 29 Jun 2023
Born Suan Juan. Argentina 8 May 1945. Died 3 October 2001
Turned pro: April 5 1958 retired 17 November 1973
Record: 116 fights 98 wins (60), 9 losses 9 draws
Beat: Jose Giorgetti, Willie Pastrano*, Wayne Thorton, Mauro Mina, Andres Selpa, Chuck Leslie, Jose Manuel Urtain, Billy Aird,
Lost to: Mauro Mina, Willie Pastrano, Oscar Bonavena, George Foreman (twice PTS & TKO, Ron Lyle,). In 116 fights only Foreman, Pastrano (cut) and Peruvian Mauro Mina beat him inside the distance.
Drew With: Oscar Bonavena, Ron Lyle
As a strong supporter of Juan Peron, he was forced to do his fighting in Uruguay and Brazil for much of 1958 all of 1959 and much of 1960 (eventually when in exile Peron stood as godfather to one of Gregorio’s sons). After returning to fighting in Argentina he was unbeaten in 29 fights with 28 wins and one draw. He had his first fight in the USA in September 1963 when he outpointed WBA and WBC light-heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano in a non-title fight. He challenged Pastrano for the titles in October 1964 but was forced to retire after five rounds due to a bad cut over his right eye, In September 1965 he lost on points to Oscar Bonavena for the Argentinian heavyweight title in front of a record crowd of over 25,000 at the Luna Park with over 5,000 left outside trying to get in when the doors were closed. He was giving away 18lbs to Bonavena. He was then unbeaten in his next 29 fights before drawing with Bonavena in 1969. He lost on points against George Foreman in February 1970 and was stopped in the tenth round by Forman in May 1971. He lost to Ron Lyle in May 1973 and retired in November 1973 after a draw against Lyle.
Gregorio’s younger brother Avenamar was also a world class fighter at light heavyweight losing only one of his first 49 fights and that loss was a disqualification. He never fought for a world title and ended with a career of 149 fights, 103 wins, 32 losses and 14 draws with 18 of those losses coming at the end of his career.
About the Author
Born in Scotland, Eric Armit started working with Boxing News magazine in the UK in the late 1960’s initially doing records for their Boxing News Annual and compiling World, European and Commonwealth ratings for the magazine. He wrote his first feature article for Boxing News in 1973 and wrote a “World Scene” weekly column for the magazine from the late 1970’s until 2004. Armit wrote a monthly column for Boxing Digest in the USA and contributed pieces to magazines in Mexico, Italy, Australia, Spain, Argentina and other countries. Armit now writes a Weekly Report covering every major fight around the world and a bi-weekly Snips & Snipes column plus occasional general interest articles with these being taken up by boxing sites around the world. He was a member of the inaugural WBC Ratings Committee and a technical advisor to the EBU Ratings Committee and was consulted by John McCain’s research team when they were drafting the Ali Act. He is a Director and former Chairman of the Commonwealth Boxing Council. Armit has been nominated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame the past two years (2019 and 2020) to which he said, “Being on the list is an unbelievably huge honour.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit.
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