Former junior welterweight champion Frankie Randall dead at 59
Frankie “The Surgeon” Randall the first man to “officially” beat the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez (107-6-2, 85KOs) has passed away at the age of 59. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Randall made his pro debut in 1983 winning by second round knockout over Curtis Gholston. In his career he would face former IBF lightweight champion Freddie Pendleton beating him and drawing with him in their two fights. He also split two fights with former two-division champion Edwin Rosario.
AN UNLIKELY CAREER RIVAL
On January 29, 1994 Randall’s career would change dramatically! This night, he took on the 89-0 Mexican phenom Chavez in a battle for the Lineal and WBC junior welterweight titles. A huge underdog going into the fight, Randall showed the world they severely underestimated him as he would come out boxing beautifully. The Mexican champ, frustrated by the challenger’s gracefulness, that he was deducted two points in separate rounds of the fight. In the eleventh round Randall would drop Chavez with a hard right hand which would be the solidifier for victory.
After the conclusion of their twelve round fight Randall would be announced as the winner by way of a split decision. The scores were 114-113 and 116-111 for Randall and 114-114 Chavez. Not only did he hand Chavez who many felt was unbeatable his first loss, he also won a title in his very first world title bid!
The two would fight two more times with the rematch taking place less than four months later. The bout was close once again by the eighth round. An accidental headbutt caused a cut over the eye of Chavez and a point was deducted for the act from Randall. With Chavez no longer able to continue, the scorecards were read. Two judges had the Mexican legend ahead while the third had Randall by a point. By way of technical decision via split-scorecards, Chavez would regain the WBC title.
The third fight came ten years later but by then Randall had become a journeyman. Chavez dominated the fight en route to a unanimous decision and putting his stamp on the saga!
MORE TITLE SUCCESS BRINGS A SIMILAR RIVALRY
While the rivalry with Chavez was still active, the former champion got caught in the midst of another. Four months after losing the Chavez rematch, Randall took on then WBA junior welterweight champion Juan Martin Coggi. Similar to how he dethroned Chavez with his boxing ability and I.Q, Randall would lift the WBA title off Coggi by unanimous decision. He went on to make two title defenses, which became the only two in his three reigns as a champion. Then in 1996, Coggi came back for more, making this another official rivalry for Randall.
In what would seem to be Deja Vu, similar to the Chavez rematch two years prior, a clash of heads would bring the end of this rematch as well. The difference here is it happened in the fifth round and Randall tasted the canvas in the third. With Coggi unable to continue, the scorecards would be read. All three judges ruled against the champion by one point due to the knockdown. Just like that, Coggi regained the WBA title.
A trilogy would take place, however, the ending would be different. While Randall lost the third fight to Chavez ten years after their first meeting, he would take the third fight seven months after their rematch. The results were similar to the first bout. Randall out-boxed Coggi over twelve rounds to become a champion for the third and final time. Unfortunately, he lost the title in his very next fight against Khalid Rahilou by eleventh round stoppage.
A ROUGH ROAD INTO RETIREMENT
Randall would move on to fight eighteen bouts in eight years but never reached championship level again. Furthermore, he quickly became a gatekeeper opponent for fighters like Antonio Margarito, Oba Carr, Marco Antonio Rubio, Peter Manfredo and Michele Piccirillo. In those eighteen bouts, he had a record of 5-13!
After a knockout loss to Chris Weber, Randall called it a career in 2005 with a record of (58-18-1, 42KOs). His son Marcus Randall revealed his father had been suffering from Parkinson’s and Pugilistic Dementia.
We here at 3kingsboxing.com would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family of Frankie Randall.
May you Rest In Peace Champ!
By: Jerrell Fletcher & EJ Williams
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