Glories of Laguna Sports

In this way, and for the first time in the history of boxing in our region, a La Laguna native was able to compete for a world title. Mijares was facing not only a good fighter, but also a champion, Esteban de Jesús, who came into this fight with only three defeats in his career. These had been against Venezuelan Antonio Gómez; Panamanian Roberto Durán; and Colombian Antonio Cervantes "Kid Pambelé," all of them extraordinary fighters who had once won world titles in their respective divisions. It should be noted that before his defeat against Durán, the Puerto Rican had broken the undefeated record of the famous "Hands of Stone," who would later become a universal boxing legend of all time, winning several world titles in different categories.

And on June 25, 1977, after overcoming the hostile environment that passionate Puerto Rican fans imposed on every visiting fighter, in addition to the weight advantage, which the home fighter surely had, since no member of Mijares' team was allowed to witness the tonnage marked by De Jesús, the fine stylist from Gomez Palatino climbed the ring at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

The fight took place and during the course of it, the champion De Jesús, despite being a fighter of vast experience and who had no need for it, resorted to multiple illicit actions such as: wearing his underwear well above the waist; rubbing a substance in the Mexican's eyes with his gloves that impeded clear vision; poking his eyes with the thumb of his glove, etc., all with the approval of those sanctioning the fight, and to the detriment of the Mexican fighter, who succumbed in the 11th round of a fight still scheduled for 15 rounds.

After his failed attempt at the world title, Mijares returned to winning ways with victories over Vicente Hernández and fellow Puerto Rican José Talamantes; he lost a decision to Colombian Alfredo Pitalúa in a fight held in Mexicali, Baja California Sur, and later Hawaiian Andy Ganigan took the North American championship from him. Upon his return to Gómez Palacio, he again defeated and, in the process, retired Sigfrido Rodríguez from boxing. Rodriguez, incidentally, had unsuccessfully challenged fellow Puerto Rican Alfredo "El Salsero" Escalera for the world super featherweight title. This fight, incidentally, was dedicated by the Gómez Palacio native to then-mayor Carlos Herrera Araluce, a great boxing and baseball fan.

After defeating Puerto Rican Héctor Julio Rivera, he was again defeated by Andy Ganigan in an attempt to regain the North American championship. Mijares admits that the Hawaiian possessed a tremendous punch, far superior to any other opponent he had faced in his professional career. Later, at the Arena Olímpico Laguna, he defeated Sinaloa native Leonardo "Chino" Bermúdez and Tamaulipas native Juan Elizondo. He then drew with José Luis Castillo, father of the fighter of the same name, who many consider to be the only opponent to defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr., although the judges determined otherwise.

After knocking out Jose Luis Escalante in 4 rounds, Mijares fought for the national lightweight championship against another of the greats of boxing, not only from Mexico, but recognized worldwide: Sonoran José Luis Ramírez, a great fighter who was able to knock out and dethrone Puerto Rican Edwin Rosario and take away the undefeated record of Pernell Whitaker, an extraordinary boxer whom not even JC could beat.

Chávez was able to defeat, The fight was held at the Azteca Pavilion in Mexico City, and Ramírez retained his title by defeating the Laguna fighter in 6 rounds.

Vicente then racked up another series of wins against: Juan Carlos Alvarado, Rodrigo Flores, Ernesto González, Cayetano Correa from the capital, Agustín “Canguro” Estrada, Javier “Memín” Bárcenas, and American John Morgan, before “welcoming” Rodolfo “El Gato” González, a fighter with a devastating punch who was causing a national sensation and who Mijares gave a boxing lesson to and defeated by technical knockout in 8 rounds before an impressive full house at the aforementioned venue, at the Municipal Auditorium in Torreón; Coahuila.

Later, he traveled to the white city of Mérida to compete again for the vacant national lightweight championship; this time his opponent was Yucatecan Ricardo "Leoncito" Peralta, a fierce fighter with a hard punch who imposed a relentless fight. The thrilling fight was decided until the twelfth and final round, when a right hook from the Yucatecan completely opened Mijares' eyelid, causing dangerous bleeding that prevented him from continuing in the fight. The bout was dubbed "The Fight of the Year" by the H: Boxing and Wrestling Commission of Mexico City, which at that time controlled and endorsed the national championships, which enjoyed enormous prestige and recognition.

Not satisfied with the defeat in the first bout, Rodolfo "El Gato" González and his team, led by the prestigious Dr. Horacio Ramírez Mercado, requested a rematch, which was held again at the Municipal Auditorium before another impressive crowd. This time, Vicente gave the Mexico City native a masterclass in boxing and defeated him by a resounding unanimous decision. Dr. Ramírez Mercado himself acknowledged "El Gato"'s defeat to the capital's newspapers.

Likewise, Ricardo Peralta granted the fighter from Gómez Palacio a rematch, this time in Comarca Lagunera itself, and in March 1984 he again defeated the world champion from La Laguna, who by this point had lost his enthusiasm for continuing in the violent profession and was defeated by decision, ending his brilliant career in the professional arena.

Interestingly, Mijares had pairs of victories against Sigfrido Rodríguez, Randy Shields, and Rodolfo “Gato” González; in return, he also suffered a pair of defeats against Andy Ganigan and Ricardo “Leoncito” Peralta.