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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Uvalde bid farewell to a local sports |
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legend with the passing of former world boxing champion Oscar |
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Albarado on February 17, 2021, at the age of 72; and |
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WHEREAS, The son of Juan Albarado and Julia Canales Albarado, |
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Oscar Albarado was born in Pecos on September 15, 1948, and grew up |
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in Uvalde with four siblings, Guadalupe, Evaristo, Juan, and |
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Domingo; he distinguished himself as a member of the Uvalde Boxing |
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Club, winning three Golden Gloves titles, and began his |
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professional career by tallying 20 straight victories in Texas and |
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surrounding areas between 1966 and 1968; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Albarado then joined forces with manager Harry |
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Kabakof, who nicknamed the boxer "Shotgun" for the punishing blows |
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he dealt opponents with either hand; relocating to California, he |
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fought 10 bouts in 1969 and quickly became a crowd favorite at |
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Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles; in April of that year, he matched |
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up with Hedgemon Lewis; though he was not victorious, his |
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outstanding performance earned him recognition as one of the top |
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contenders in his weight class; and |
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WHEREAS, A series of victories, including triumphs against |
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Eddie Mazon in 1973 and 1974, earned Mr. Albarado a title shot |
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against junior middleweight champion Koichi Wajima on June 4, 1974; |
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in an epic match held in Tokyo, the 25-year old Texan knocked out |
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Wajima in the 15th round and was crowned the unified WBA/WBC Junior |
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Middleweight Champion of the World; upon retuning to Uvalde a few |
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weeks later, he was given a hero's welcome, and the mayor declared |
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June 20, 1974, as Oscar Albarado Day; he held the world title for |
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230 days, successfully defending it against Ryu Sorimachi before |
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relinquishing the title to Mr. Wajima in a rematch via a decision in |
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January 1975; he retired following the bout, and after staging a |
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brief comeback beginning in 1980, the fighter hung up his gloves for |
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good the following year; he ended his storied 72-fight career with a |
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record of 58-13-1 and 43 knockouts; his achievements were formally |
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honored on October 15, 2017, when he was inducted into the West |
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Coast Boxing Hall of Fame; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Albarado took great pride in his four children, |
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Oscar Jr., Angela, Emmanuel, and Jacob; with the passing years, his |
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family grew to include his son-in-law, Eric, his daughters-in-law, |
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Irma, Elizabeth, and Patricia, and his 13 grandchildren, Marc, |
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Kimberly, Katie, Samantha, Alyssa, Alexis, Alayna, Evangeline, |
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Emmanuel Elijah, Emiliana, Jacob Zachary, Jordan, and Jayda; and |
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WHEREAS, Shotgun Albarado proved himself as a boxer of |
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exceptional ability and unrelenting determination, and his |
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brilliance in the ring will continue to be fondly remembered across |
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the Lone Star State and beyond for many years to come; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Oscar "Shotgun" |
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Albarado and extend sincere sympathy to his family and friends; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Oscar |
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Albarado. |