José Ruíz Matos, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

José Ruíz Matos

Puerto Rican boxer

Date of Birth: 24-Oct-1966

Place of Birth: Trujillo Alto, United States

Date of Death: 24-Sep-1992

Profession: boxer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

José "Cheíto" Ruíz Matos (October 24, 1966 – February 28, 1992) was a Puerto Rican boxer.
Born and raised in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, he was signed as a professional when he was 17 years old.
Ruíz made his debut July 13, 1984, competing in the super flyweight division.
He gathered a record of 9-2 during the first three years of his career, which featured a trilogy against eventual contender, Pedro Jose Feliciano.
Seeking to improve his standing in the world rankings, Ruíz challenged and defeated former World Boxing Council and Colombian champion, Prudencio Cardona and Chilean titlist Bernardo Manuel Mendoza.
On April 29, 1989, he received his first opportunity for a world championship, defeating Sugar "Baby" Rojas for the title of the newly created World Boxing Organization.
Ruíz had four successful defenses, defeating Juan Carazo, Ángel Rosario, Wilfredo Vargas and Armando Velasco.
On February 22, 1992, Ruíz lost the title to José Quirino by unanimous decision.
Five months later, he participated in the last fight of his career, losing a close majority decision to the International Boxing Federation's champion, Robert Quiroga.
On February 28, 1992, Ruíz was ambushed and shot while traveling through one of San Juan's barrios, receiving six bullet wounds that fatally injured him.