A few days ago we learned of the passing of José González Sales, former Spanish heavyweight champion in the 1950s, who passed away on February 19th. Sales was born in Chulilla (Valencia) on March 11th, 1929, and was 71 years old at the time of his passing in Valencia. We cannot affirm that Sales was one of the best heavyweights in our history, but we can say that he was the dominant force among the great heavyweights in that decade, defeating all the strong fighters of the time.
As an amateur, he had a brilliant record, winning the national heavyweight title for three consecutive years. He won his first title at the championships held in Valencia in 1948, ending the winning streak of Alejandro Arteche, a boxer who had been champion in the two previous editions. He also won the title in 1949 and 1950, the year of his transition to the professional ranks.
He made his debut on June 10th, 1950, in Valencia, losing by points to another Valencian, Antonio Folgado. But three months later, he avenged his defeat by knocking out his fellow countryman in the sixth round. In his fourteenth professional fight, he won the national title by knocking out the Basque fighter César Santaeulalia in the tenth round. He then successfully defended the title five times against Alejandro Arteche, César Santaeulalia (twice), Martínez Ruiz, and José Mardaras. He would lose the title in June 1961 to Mariano Echevarría, who defeated him on points in Madrid.
José González Sales faced all the Spanish boxers of his time, as well as the best European fighters of the moment, and counted among his victories a win over former European champion Franco Cavicchi of Italy (11/03/57) in Bologna, and the most important of his career (20/11/62) against the British boxer Billy Walker, one of the most popular boxers in the UK in the 1960s. In a rematch, he would lose by points.
Sales was a tough boxer with good arm defense and little punching power for a heavyweight, resolving most of his victories by points. During his fourteen-year professional career, he fought in 52 bouts, with 23 wins (11 by KO), 23 losses, and 6 draws. This is our small tribute to a champion of the ring. May he rest in peace
Boxing historial
| Date | Fighter (Won-Lost-Draw) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1964-12-20 | Jean Paul Schiller 19 3 1 | L-KO |
| 1964-09-05 | Benito Canal 12 2 0 | L-TKO |
| 1964-07-09 | Benito Canal 11 2 0 | L-PTS |
| 1964-07-02 | Mariano Echevarria 29 29 4 | W-PTS |
| 1963-12-26 | Benito Penna 13 0 0 | L-KO |
| 1963-04-03 | Benito Canal 5 1 0 | L-PTS |
| 1962-11-26 | Billy Walker 4 1 1 | L-PTS |
| 1962-11-20 | Billy Walker 4 0 1 | W-DQ |
| 1962-10-31 | Johnny Prescott 17 0 1 | L-PTS |
| 1962-02-19 | Giuseppe Migliari 6 0 1 | L-TKO |
| 1961-09-10 | Karl Mildenberger 25 1 0 | L-KO |
| 1961-08-12 | Giacomo Bozzano 26 2 0 | L-KO |
| 1961-06-03 | Mariano Echevarria 19 13 1 | L-PTS |
| 1961-04-07 | Mariano Echevarria 18 13 1 | L-PTS |
| 1961-01-20 | Gerhard Zech 9 0 0 | L-PTS |
| 1960-09-22 | Joe Erskine 36 4 1 | L-TKO |
| 1960-08-13 | Rocco Mazzola 24 8 2 | W-PTS |
| 1959-11-20 | Adriano Amati 3 2 1 | L-PTS |
| 1959-10-17 | Francis Magnetto 12 4 2 | L-KO |
| 1959-10-02 | Santo Amonti 29 0 1 | L-PTS |
| 1959-07-04 | Ulli Nitzschke 7 0 0 | L-PTS |
| 1959-03-23 | Federico Friso 15 6 4 | W-PTS |
| 1959-03-11 | Sergio Biggioggero 4 3 0 | W-PTS |
| 1959-02-14 | Bonino Allevi 12 4 2 | W-PTS |
| 1959-02-02 | Ilkka Koski 3 0 0 | L-UD |
| 1959-01-21 | Federico Friso 15 4 4 | W-PTS |
| 1958-06-15 | Giacomo Bozzano 17 0 0 | L-TKO |
| 1958-05-03 | Massimo Zanaboni 10 1 0 | L-PTS |
| 1958-02-26 | Bruno Scarabellin 13 0 0 | L-PTS |
| 1958-02-18 | Massimo Zanaboni 8 0 0 | W-TKO |
| 1957-12-25 | Jose Mardaras 0 1 0 | W-RTD |
| 1957-11-30 | Bonino Allevi 9 2 0 | W-TKO |
| 1957-07-17 | Albert Westphal 7 4 0 | L-PTS |
| 1957-06-03 | Franco Cavicchi 45 5 2 | W-PTS |
| 1957-03-11 | Franco Cavicchi 45 4 2 | W-TKO |
| 1957-01-14 | Federico Friso 13 0 1 | W-PTS |
| 1956-12-17 | Giannino Orlando Luise 20 4 1 | W-TKO |
| 1956-12-05 | Uber Bacilieri 20 12 6 | L-PTS |
| 1956-11-17 | Gerhard Rode 5 2 1 | W-PTS |
| 1956-08-01 | Hans Friedrich 24 12 6 | L-PTS |
| 1956-04-07 | Emile Vidal 12 0 0 | L-PTS |
| 1956-02-15 | Ramon Martinez 28 12 3 | W-TKO |
| 1955-12-10 | Emile Vidal 8 0 0 | L-PTS |
| 1955-11-25 | Guenter Nurnberg 17 12 8 | W-PTS |
| 1955-10-07 | Brian London 6 0 0 | L-TKO |
| 1955-09-09 | Willi Besmanoff 22 4 7 | L-PTS |
| 1955-08-12 | Dominico Cambruzzi 6 5 2 | W-KO |
| 1955-03-08 | Randolph Turpin 51 5 1 | L-KO |
| 1954-11-27 | Charles Colin 28 2 3 | L-KO |
| 1954-10-13 | Cesar Santa Eulalia 9 8 0 | W-KO |
| 1954-07-11 | Willi Hoepner 37 4 1 | L-KO |
| 1954-03-05 | Willi Besmanoff 13 2 3 | D-PTS |
| 1953-10-13 | Jack Hobbs 12 1 0 | L-KO |
| 1953-07-22 | Ramon Martinez 23 6 0 | W-PTS |
| 1953-03-01 | Heinz Titze 16 10 7 | W-PTS |
| 1953-02-15 | Hans Motzelt 14 22 11 | W-KO |
| 1952-11-19 | Cesar Santa Eulalia 6 2 0 | W-PTS |
| 1952-10-25 | Alejandro Arteche 3 1 1 | D-PTS |
| 1952-08-14 | Cesar Santa Eulalia 6 1 0 | W-KO |
| 1952-06-04 | Jose Mancisidor 4 6 1 | W-TKO |
| 1952-01-26 | Julian Humanes 18 7 4 | D-PTS |
| 1951-12-22 | Julian Humanes 18 7 3 | D-PTS |
| 1951-11-21 | Julian Humanes 17 6 2 | D-PTS |
| 1951-10-17 | Gaetano Guerriero 4 0 0 | W-PTS |
| 1951-05-30 | Antonio Folgado 22 11 4 | W-PTS |
| 1951-04-18 | Johann Erich 0 1 0 | D-PTS |
| 1951-04-04 | Antonio Folgado 21 11 4 | L-KO |
| 1951-02-21 | Johann Erich debut | W-PTS |
| 1951-01-31 | Luis Diana 1 2 0 | W-KO |
| 1951-01-24 | Juan Torrecillas 11 19 4 | W-PTS |
| 1950-09-03 | Antonio Folgado 21 9 4 | W-KO |
| 1950-06-10 | Antonio Folgado 20 9 4 | L-PTS |