In sad news, it has been reported by Brazilian media that former heavyweight contender Jose Adilson Rodrigues has passed away at the still relatively young age of 66. Rodrigues, known as “Maguila” during his ring career, had been battling pugilistic dementia since 2013.
A good fighter who was physically strong, Rodrigues also had power, and he could move in the ring if he wanted to. Blessed with pretty fast hands, Rodrigues was sadly not blessed with a great chin, even if he had a ton of heart and desire. During his 17-year pro career, Adilson rumbled with some of the biggest names of the 1980s and 1990s, including Evander Holyfield, James “Bonecrusher” Smith, George Foreman, and James “Quick” Tillis.
Rodrigues, easily the most celebrated Brazilian heavyweight boxer in the country’s history, was at one time trained by the great Angelo Dundee, most notably for the Foreman fight in 1990. Unfortunately, after a decent hit-and-move opening round, Rodrigues was taken out by Foreman, who was in round two. A year earlier, Holyfield had KO’d Rodrigues in the second round.
These highlight reel KO losses aside, Rodrigues picked up some good wins, over Smith and Tillis, with both wins coming on points; while “Maguila” also scored wins over British heavy Hughroy Currie, this in 1988, and British cruiserweight, now noted pundit, Johnny Nelson.
Rodrigues KO’d Currie before his fights with Holyfield and Foreman, while he then won two 12-round decision victories over Nelson years later, in 1995. The decisions in Rodrigues’ favor may well have resulted in some, shall we say, home cooking! But Rodrigues was a hero in Brazil, with many of his fights taking place in Sao Paulo.
Retiring in 2000 with a 77-7-1(61) record, Rodrigues won both the South American and the Brazil heavyweight title during his at times very exciting career. Some other names Rodrigues managed to defeat include Rocky Sekorski, Mike Jameson, Reggie Gross, Alfredo Envangelista, Dave Garside (another British heavyweight), and Dave Jaco.
“Maguila” threatened the top heavyweights for a while, yet he ultimately fell short. All those who knew Jose had nothing but great affection for him. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has joined those paying tribute to this fallen warrior.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to Jose’s family and friends at this time.
