He stayed busy fighting mostly on undercards at the Olympic auditorium and soon had a record of 22-0-1 winning 18 by knockout, the draw coming from a technical decision caused by an unintentional head butt against Chuy Rodriguez.
It was Feb. 27, 1983 that he got his biggest test to date against fellow world ranked contender Howard Davis Jr. (21-1). They faced each other in Atlantic City and it was a nationally televised event that had boxing fans around the world tuned in. Davis was a gold medalist in the 1976 Olympic games, and his only defeat came at the hands of Jim Watt in Glasgow, Scotland on a very close decision.
The Baltazar/Davis fight was a classic with Tony knocking down Davis twice. But when the final bell rang, and the scores were read by the ring announcer, it was Davis who was awarded the controversial decision. The bout was scored using the old "rounds" system which nulified the importance of the knockdowns, and may have cost Baltazar the decision. Either way, it was a solid performance from "The Tiger" and only improved his reputation as a world class contender.
Baltazar came back with a very high class of opposition now facing him. A big win against respected Roque Montoya in which Baltazar overcame a point deduction to win handily on all 3 judges scorecards, and he was stopped in round 9 against another world ranked contender - Robin Blake.
Tony rebounded from that tough loss against Blake to go on an 8-0, 6 ko path of total destruction which included wins over Roger Mayweather (Unanimous Decision), Miguel Angel Dominguez (tko-7), and Sammy Brooks (tko-7) before traveling to New York to face former IBF Jr. Welterweight World Champion - James Buddy McGirt (42-2-1) in a 10 round main event. The night belonged to McGirt who battled his way to a unanimous decision win.
Baltazar was still in the mix, and two fights later scored a big win - stopping Pedro Laza (30-5) in 3 rounds. After stopping tough Danny Vargas in his next fight fought in Albuquerque, NM and televised on the Univision network, Baltazar was named as the challenger for undefeated Hector "Macho" Camacho's (37-0) WBO Jr. Welterweight World championship title.August 11, 1990 was the big night for Baltazar who finally got his well earned shot at a world title. It was televised on HBO and was a very highly anticipated night for boxing fans around the world. The event featured some of the top names in the game including Meldrick Taylor, Primo Ramos, Pernell Whitaker, and Juan Nazario.
Baltazar was dangerous all the way through, but it was Camacho who used his slick and elusive boxing skills to win a pretty clear unanimous decision, denying Baltazar of the world title.
California's "Tiger" Baltazar scored back to back knockout wins, and then dropped a razor-thin split decision to "Rockin' Rodney" Moore, and got his 2nd shot at a world title. This time it was against another unbeaten champion, Mexico City's Carlos "Bolillo" Gonzalez (35-0, 31 ko). Even though Gonzalez was undefeated, and the champion, Baltazar would have much of the crowd behind him as the bout was held at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles.
The champion was patient as Baltazar came out fast and looked sharp. The Mexican knockout artist caught Baltazar in the first round and stopped him via 3 knockdowns at 2:22 of the opening round to defend his world title.
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| Baltazar was a fan favorite of Southern California Pro Boxing! |
Baltazar fought twice more knocking out Jose Robert Lopez in round 1, and then losing via disqualification to unbeaten Jaime Ocegueda in Laughlin, Nevada.
Tony Baltazar retired, but returned nearly 8 years later for his final fight in Feb. of 2002. Nearly 23 years after his first professional bout, he battled to win a majority decision over Denver's Eugene Lopez to put a winning finish to an incredible journey.
Tony finished with a final record of 38 wins, 7 defeats, 1 draw, and won 30 by knockout. Check out his complete ledger on boxrec.com: Tony "The Tiger" Baltazar's COMPLETE pro ledger
He was a fan favorite, he delighted the crowds, always gave them their money's worth with his heart, skill and ferocious style!
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