THE BOXING GURU'S HALL-OF-FAVORITES: TOMMY CORDOVA

Nickname: EL TORITO

Albuquerque's Tommy Cordova turned professional in August of 1983 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. He scored a 3rd round knockout over Rafael Renas to get his pro campaign going.

Cordova returned to his hometown of Albuquerque, NM for his 2nd pro fight, and delighted the enthusiastic crowd scoring a unanimous 4 round decision over Salvador Dominguez in front of a packed house at the Civic Arena.

Tommy now had a record of 9-0, 6 ko's and had fought in 6 different states to compile that flashy record. He was gaining a reputation as a "road warrior" who would face anyone, anytime, anywhere!

Just 8 months after his professional debut, Tommy was called for a battle with undefeated prospect Kenny Baysmore (13-0) in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a wild affair, but Baysmore slick movement carried the night as he was awarded an 8 round decision win over the New Mexican warrior.

From that point on, Tommy would be pitted against some of the top names in his division(s). His next fight would see him travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to square off with local hot prospect Jimmy "School Boy" Jackson (12-1-1) in a 10-round bout. This time it was the pressure and non-stop offense of Cordova that was too much for Jackson and it was Cordova scoring the unanimous decision victory over the local favorite.

With his record now standing at 10-1, Tommy Cordova was named as the man to face the experienced contender Freddie Roach (34-5) for a shot at the vacant ESPN Jr. Lightweight title. The bout was a can't miss war between two offensive machines. The fight went all 12 rounds, and in the end it was Cordova whose hand was raised via split decision. Judge Duane Ford saw it 114-113 for Cordova, Hal Miller had it 115-113 for Roach, and it was Paul Smith that cast the deciding scorecard 117-111 in favor of Tommy Cordova.

A HUGE night for Tommy Cordova against Freddie Roach for the ESPN title!

Tommy's offensive style earned him the nickname "El Torito" and he returned to Albuquerque to treat the local fans with a shutout win over 10 rounds against 58 fight veteran Jose Resendez.

Next, it was off to Phoenix, Arizona where Tommy challenged local favorite Ronnie Gary for the Arizona State Featherweight Title. The local fighter got the 12 round decision win in another brutal slugfest.

He ran into a rough customer named Rocky Garcia who fought out of Los Angeles, California. After 22 rounds of war, nothing was settled! The first meeting ended in a 10 round draw, and 2 months later they did it again, this time it was a 12 rounder, with the SAME RESULT - a DRAW! The long anticipated 3rd meeting to settle it never happened.

Cordova ran off 5 straight wins including Herbie Bivalacqua (13-1-1), Kelvin Seabrooks (17-10), and Gary Gamble (18-12-1) building his record to 17-2-2 and earning him a shot at the vacant NABF Featherweight Championship against California's "Baby Joe" Joe Ruelaz (17-2). The fight took place at The Showboat Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV and it was another bruiser. It went the full 12 brutal rounds, and it was Ruelaz winning the Majority Decision victory on scores of 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113 for "Baby Joe".

Tommy took an easy tune-up fight before facing future WBA World Featherweight Champion Steve Cruz (23-1) in another of Tommy's classic wars. Cordova was stopped in round 9 by Cruz.

Tommy would go 2-12-1 from that point. Being put in the ring with some of the biggest names of that time. Lupe Miranda (9-0), Joey Medina (9-1), Javier Marquez (28-3-2), Andy Minsker (9-1), Shane Knox (7-0), Tony Lopez (23-0), traveling to Australia to face Lester Ellis (24-2), and then traveling to Corpus Christi, TX to face the local hero Lupe Suarez (23-1) where Cordova was stopped in round 9 after being dropped twice.

The wars were wearing on El Torito. Hard fight after hard fight, war after war, the losses were starting to mount and he took some time off from the ring.

Two years later he returned with a 1:48 destruction of Mexico's Alfredo Torres in Albuquerque, and followed that with an 8 round unanimous win over Jesus Muniz. That win would be the final victory of Cordova's nearly 10 year journey.

Cordova finished his career with losses to Javier Marquez (39-8-3), Colorado's Bobby Brewer (11-3) in Colorado, Back-to-Back losses to Jaime "Rocky" Balboa, and he finished with a spirited battle being stopped in 5 rounds against Detroit's Courtney Hooper, that final battle being waged in Tampa, Florida.

It was a hard 10-year-long journey, but Tommy Cordova enjoyed every minute of it! The offensive war machine became a favorite among boxing fans everywhere, his non-stop attacking style made him a promoter's dream, and a fight fan's fighter! Tommy is still active in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He trains younger members of his fighting family.

Check out Tommy's amazing record on boxrec: TOMMY'S RECORD ON BOXREC

If you would like to see TOMMY CORDOVA in action, I have these bouts available for trade on DVD:

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JIMMY JACKSON [w-10]

FREDDIE ROACH [w-12] {ESPN Jr. Light Title}

KELVIN SEABROOKS [w-10]

STEVE CRUZ [tko-by-9] (*1st round ONLY)

ROBERT ANDERSON [w-dq-4]

ANDY MINSKER [L-10]

LESTER ELLIS [tko-by-10]

LUPE SUAREZ [tko-by-9]

ALFREDO TORRES [ko-1]