Rodolfo Aguilar still remembers the three days he spent in Las Vegas in April 1988.
Then Aguilar, a 24-year-old, 5 foot 11, 134 pound fighter, spent five years looking to make a name for himself in the boxing world.
On the final night of the trip, Aguilar went nose to nose with the then undefeated WBA lightweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez – despite having a height advantage of about four inches.
Although he gave Chavez a pretty good run for five laps, Aguilar didn’t get his “rocky” ending.
But Aguilar, now 56, retired and living in Tallahassee, recalls: “This fight changed my life.”
Last weekend, Aguilar was inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame.
“It was a beautiful ceremony,” said Aguilar.
“I am honored to be part of the Hall of Fame. For me it is very special to have come to this country, especially as a foreigner, and not to know what to expect.
“It’s a great honor.”
Aguilar, who won 37-8-3 with 15 knockouts during his career, may not have won the title that night at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. But his respectable performance against one of the best fighters in the world at the time led a humble kid from Panama City, Panama, to a largely successful 19 years in the ring.
“Boxing was something I did as a kid just to find a chance for a good life,” said Aguilar.
“That fight opened many doors for me in the United States.”
Aguilar started boxing in 1983 at the age of 15 and took out any fight in his home country or in the United States. His first professional fights came on the west coast in various cities in California.
After his title fight with Chavez, Aguilar fought three more times and then enjoyed one of the best periods of his career when he went undefeated for two years before losing an eight-round decision to Frankie Randall.
Aguilar lost another title bout to WBA welterweight champion Crisanto Espana in 1993 and fought in four other title bouts before retiring in 2002.
Aguilar moved to Tallahassee and settled there in 1996, training at a local gym and spending the rest of his career there.
At that point, his life changed forever when he met his 18-year-old wife, Jodi, who was herself a professional boxer at the time and had six professional fights.
They now have three boys – Daniel (16), Derek (10) and David (10).
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According to Aguilar, the children are not as into boxes as their parents.
They play baseball in youth leagues and high school ball, as well as swimming and playing soccer.
Aguilar runs a pool maintenance company in Tallahassee but is still very involved in sports.
Aguilar is the Director of Operations for Latin America and South America for the International Boxing Association (IBA). He works with Hispanic fighters and serves as a referee.
Aguilar looks back fondly on his days in the ring and sometimes even wonders what direction his life would have been had if he had beaten Chavez all those years ago.
But he has no regrets.
“Even if I lost, it’s funny how life works,” said Aguilar.
“If I had beaten Chavez, my life would have been very different. But I probably wouldn’t have the great family that I have now. “
Reach Andre Fernandez at afernandez@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @FernandezAndreC.
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