Frankie Billy Randall is a three-time world champion boxer….being the first to defeat Julio César Chávez in a professional match….who had turned pro in 1981 after a career as an amateur boxer. He won his pro debut in June of that year, but was inactive in 1982 and did not fight again until February 1983….when Randall fought and won 23 times between 1983 and June 1985….fighting former and future champ Edwin Rosario….and lost a unanimous decision over 10 rounds.
On July 4, 1986, Randall drew with Freddie Pendleton for the USBA regional lightweight title….then watched Pendleton get a title shot instead of him….leading to October 1987 when Randall was knocked out by Mexican lightweight champion Primo Ramos for the NABF regional belt. Randall then signed with promoter Don King and spent the next six and a half years fighting on the under-cards of various championship fights promoted by King….winning all 17 of those fights…..earning him another title shot on January 30, 1993….when he knocked out Rosario in the seventh round of a rematch.
On January 29, 1994, Randall fought for the title against champion Julio César Chávez….in the grand opening of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Chávez came into the fight with an 89-0-1 record and was an 18-to-1 favorite….in which Randall won the early rounds….building a large lead in the middle of the fight on the scorecards….to which Chávez began to rally and by the 10th round….Randall held a narrow lead. Chávez made an illegal low blow that cost Chávez a point. In the 11th round, Randall knocked Chávez down for the first time in his career. Randall was named WBC light welterweight championship on a split decision. Chavez disputed the decision and demanded a rematch. Chávez blamed his loss on a referee who deducted two points from Chávez for low blows….including one in the eleventh round that made the difference on judge Angel Guzman’s card….making the ultimate difference on the scorecards….when Guzman scored the bout 114-113 for Randall meaning that the fight would have ended in a draw as Chuck Giampa had Randall winning by a 116-111 margin and Abraham Chavarria scored it 114-113 for Chavez.
Chávez got a rematch on May 7 of the same year and regained the title from Randall on an eight-round technical split decision.[2] As before, a deducted point played in the outcome of the fight. Chavez was injured in an accidental clash of heads and unable to continue. Randall was docked a point for the incident. Judge Dalby Shirley’s scorecard read 76-75 for Chavez; with judge Ray Solis having Chavez winning by a 77-74 margin on his card and judge Tamotsu Tomihara had the fight 76-75 in Randall’s favor.
On September 17, Randall was given a shot at the WBA version of the light welterweight title held by Juan Martin Coggi…..whom he beat and then defended his title twice….before losing a rematch to Coggi in January 1996 in a four-round decision in a fight ended early by a clash of heads. Seven months later, Randall regained the WBA title by beating Coggi by unanimous decision in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He lost it in his first defense against Khalid Rahilou on January 11, 1997.
After taking 18 months off, Randall came back in an attempt to become a four-time world champ…..he won a pair of tune-up fights….then faced contender Oba Carr in February 1999 where Carr beat him on a 10-round unanimous decision. On May 22, 2004, Chávez chose Randall for his last fight before going into retirement. Randall lost a 10-round decision to Chávez in Mexico City. Randall announced his retirement on January 1, 2005 after losing a fight to light-middleweight Marco Antonio Rubio. He lost a bout the following month to Mauro Lucero….and another bout later in the year. Randall’s final career record is 58 wins, 18 losses and one draw, with 42 wins by way of knockout.
Edwin “El Chapo” Rosario was a Puerto Rican boxer….who won the lightweight championship three times….as the WBC lightweight champion (1983–84)….the WBA champion (1986–87)….and the WBA championship again (1989–90). After moving up to the junior welterweight class, he won the WBA championship, holding the title from 1991 to 1992.
Rosario won a comeback fight against Frankie Randall, the future world champion, in London….as seen in this video herewith. He had to wait another year before an opportunity to regain the title. On June 13, 1986, he met the world champion Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight was televised by HBO….and although Rosario shook Camacho badly in the fifth round and rallied down the stretch….Camacho swept the middle rounds. The judges, in a split decision, awarded Camacho the fight. Because of the closeness of that bout, the WBA gave Rosario a chance to challenge Livingstone Bramble, the other world lightweight champion. Rosario went to Miami and defeated Bramble by knockout in the second round to become world lightweight champion for the second time. His pose, raising his arms after the fight, became The Ring magazine’s cover for the next month — the only time Rosario was featured on its English-version cover.
Rosario defended the title against fellow Puerto Rican Juan Nazario with a knockout in eight in Chicago. In his next defense, he was beaten by Julio César Chávez in Las Vegas. By the eleventh round, Rosario’s eye was almost completely shut, he was spitting blood from his mouth, and the fight was stopped by his corner. Rosario was inactive for seven months then went 7-0 with 6 KO’s in his next fights. After Chavez vacated the title in 1989, Rosario came back and won it again, beating Anthony Jones, a tough Kronk prospect for the championship.
Rosario joined a small group of men who had become world champions three times in the same division. This time, however, he didn’t hold the title for long. When he gave Nazario a 1990 rematch at Madison Square Garden, he was defeated on cuts in the 8th round. Rosario moved up a weight class to the junior welterweight division, and defeated defending world champion Loreto Garza in three rounds to become a world champion for the 4th time….however, personal problems started to take their toll….for in his first defense against Japanese Akinobu Hiranaka in Mexico City on April 10, 1992….he lost by a 1st round TKO. He later lost a rematch to Frankie Randall, by technical knockout in seven rounds.
