A steep price to pay: Former champion Oscar 'Shotgun' Albarado

His manager nicknamed him “Shotgun.”

The name fit. He’d throw punches in bunches, many with wicked intentions. His guns were rarely empty. He was durable, with unquestioned power.  

“He was strong,” Armando Muniz told me on the phone a few years ago. “Had a great chin. Our fight was tough.” 

The fight, between Muniz and Oscar “Shotgun” Albarado, went down May 6, 1971, at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. The result was 10 rounds of war, with neither fighter giving an inch, both doling out plenty of punishment. It was the equivalent of a pugilistic roller-coaster ride. The judges saw a draw. Some thought that Albarado deserved the nod. Others had no problem with the verdict. No losers in that street fight.  

Two years later, I was at the Olympic with my dad and grandfather. Albarado was the headliner. I was excited to see him fight in person. His brawl with Muniz, my personal favorite, had made a fan out of me. He’d be meeting Dino Del Cid in a rematch. Del Cid had stopped him three weeks before. As he stood in his corner, glaring at Del Cid, revenge had to be on his mind.  

At the bell, the “Shotgun” wasted little time unloading. Bobbing and weaving, he let fly with his signature left hook. The blow landed with a thud. Del Cid wobbled as Albarado attacked, a roar rocking the Olympic. Another left hook sent Del Cid crashing to the canvas. He beat the count but was in a world of hurt. A barrage of blows sent him down for a second time.  

Up at nine, he tried to stay away from Albarado, who was stalking him like a hunter zeroing in on his prey. There was no escape. Two heavy hooks collapsed Del Cid. Somehow, he got up as the bell rang.

One minute to recuperate from the savage beating he had endured. He bravely stood, his eyes glassy, wobbling to the center of the ring to meet Albarado, who ended things quickly.   

Albarado started his boxing career in the bantamweight division, winning a few amateur regional tournaments in his native TEX. He was anxious to go pro. He did at 17, debuting in San Antonio in 1966.  

Fighters paid their dues back in the day. Albarado paid many. He won 24 bouts in a row, before being soundly defeated by the talented Hedgemon Lewis. He was back in the ring two months later, stopping Johnny Brooks in seven.  

Back-to-back losses to Adolph Pruitt and Percy Pugh hardly slowed him down.  He won five in succession, including a split nod over spoiler Raul Soriano. A loss to title challenger Ernie Lopez was followed by four straight knockout wins.

Fighting virtually every month, Albarado won five of his next six fights by knockout. He handled Eddie Mazon twice, before heading to Japan to fight defending junior middleweight champion Koichi Wajima.

Winning on the road is tough, but Albarado, fighting for the fifty-fifth time as a professional, achieved his dream, stopping Wajima in the 15^th round of a wild slugfest.  

Oscar Albarado was 25. Making it to the top of the mountain had been tough. There wasn’t much time for family. 

“Unfortunately, the attributes that made my father an exceptional athlete made him not a very good dad,” said Oscar Albarado Jr. via email who was five when his dad won the crown. 

Albarado returned to Japan two more times in the next seven months, knocking out Ryu Sorimachi in his first title defense, and facing Wajima in a rematch. The fight was another barnburner. In a controversial decision, Wajima was judged the winner.  

A disappointed Albarado retired after the bout.   

“I did once ask him about the Wajima rematch, " said Albarado Jr., who believes his dad was robbed in Japan. He told me, “You win some, and you lose some.” 

Albarado stayed out of the ring for over five years. In 1980, he was back.  The money from his title winning effort was gone.  

“All he knew was boxing, so he returned to the only thing he knew,” Albarado Jr. said. ”By that time, however, the hunger and desire to win was gone, and all he was looking for was a paycheck.”

Albarado had been a champion, had being the key word. He was well known, and still popular, but he was past his prime, and feeling his oats.

In his third comeback fight, he was stopped by one Paul Stephens. Instead of hanging up the gloves, he kept fighting, getting stopped five times in the next 11 months.  

Finally, he was finished.

But something had been wrong for awhile.  

“As far back as nineteen-eighty, we all noticed that things were not right with him,” said Albarado Jr.” He spent many years walking the streets of Uvalde Texas, a homeless man. He was friendly to everyone. The kind of guy that would literally give you the shirt off his back.” 

Albarado Jr. once asked his dad why, “he chose to live this way.” (on the streets). 

“Once you’ve been on top, there’s only one way to go,” replied the former champion.  

Neurological issues, likely because of his boxing career, grew worse.  

“My dad has been in and out of the hospital more times than I can remember,” Albarado Jr. said. “I pretty much lost him at ten.” 

Getting hit over and over will eventually cause problems for most fighters. Many are affected. The lucky dodge the perennial bullet. Alvarado wasn’t one of them. He’s currently in a hospital battling pneumonia. He does recognize his children when they visit him.  

“My dad always told us (Oscar and his two brothers) to give it your all and you’ll have no regrets,” said Albarado Jr.  

The regret is with the damage boxing can incur. Respect should be given. It was certainly earned. 

A steep price for fulfilling a dream. 

Oscar “Shotgun” Albarado died last week at the age of 72.

Maxboxing sends condolences to the Albarado family.

A big thank you to Oscar Albarado Jr. for his help with this article.