Rene Barrientos (boxer)

Early life

Ireneo "Rene" Barrientos was born on July 25, 1943, in Balete, Aklan, the fourth of 10 children whose father was a policeman. Their father died when Barrientos was 12 years old. At a tender age of 15, he joined his brothers working in the farm in Cotabato after their migration.

Like most boxers, Barrientos dropped out of school at age 17 due to poverty and worked as a mechanic's helper in a logging firm. He was promoted to the position of foreman when the company transferred its concession to Samar.

Professional career

Upon his return to Cotabato, Barrientos saw upon

On April 29, 1967, he won the Philippine super featherweight title via points decision over Raymond Rivera in a fight held in Davao City.

He battled WBC/WBA super featherweight/junior lightweight champion Hiroshi Kobayashi on March 30, 1968, in Tokyo, Japan. The fight ended in a controversial majority draw with the judge and referee from Japan scoring it a draw, while the Filipino judge saw it in favor of Barrientos. The WBC ordered an immediate rematch, which Kobayashi refused, prompting the WBC to strip the Japanese of his title and ordered the number one contender Barrientos to face the number two contender Ruben Navarro of Los Angeles, California.

Barrientos defeated Navarro by unanimous decision at the Araneta Coliseum on February 15, 1969. It was reported that Barrientos vomited an hour before the fight time, but pummeled his opponent badly to win convincingly. Barrientos’ reign as world champion lasted only more than a year as he lost a controversial split-decision to Japan's Yoshiaki Numata in Tokyo, Japan on January 3, 1971.

He retired after his majority decision win over Javier Ayala in Hawaii on July 25, 1972, after injuring his left hand. But he returned to the ring in 1978 for two more victories in fights against Filipino Joe Faune by 2nd-round KO and Thai Jong Satherigym by decision.