Ruben Dario Palacios was a Colombian

Colombian people

Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...

 boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

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Professional career

Palacio fought 11 years before surprisingly winning the WBO title in England with an 8 round KO of British star Colin McMillan on 26 September 1992.

Before that, Palacios had tried unsuccessfully to win a world title on 3 occasions and never gave up on his dream, even when he had very low points in his career (between 1984 and 1986, for example, he lost 4 out of 5 fights).

He was very much the underdog against the flashy 23-1 McMillan but Palacios had his night of glory that day in London. Ironically, he returned to England to defend his title and then he was diagnosed with the HIV virus by the British Boxing Board of Control

British Boxing Board of Control

The British Boxing Board of Control is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff.- Councils :...

. Palacios had to relinquish the belt he had waited so long to win and retired with a 45-11-2 (19 KO) record.

Life After Boxing

After relinquishing the belt, the former champion's life was a tragic downward spiral. He was arrested on drug trafficking charges in the US a year after and spent four years in jail.

Death

Palacios died of AIDS in a hospital in Medellín, Colombia on Friday. At the time of his death, Ruben Palacios was a few weeks short of his 41st birthday.

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