Frankie Randall, the man who officially ended Julio Cesar Chavez’s legendary streak, has passed away at the age of 59. Former trainer Aaron Sowell broke the news on Facebook, having heard from Randall’s son DeMarcus.
He had been dealing with both Parkinson’s and puglistic dementia.
After debuting professionally in 1983, Randall saw his initial rise marred by losses to Edwin Rosario and Primo Ramos, but soon rattled off a lengthy streak that saw him knock “El Chapo” eight years after their initial meeting. This led to a clash with the 89-0-1 Chavez, whom Randall shockingly dropped in the first round en route to a monumental upset victory and a super lightweight world title. Though he would lose a narrow technical decision in the rematch, he then embarked on a staggered trilogy against iron-tough Argentine great Juan Martin Coggi, winning two of their three meetings.
Those would be his final victories of note. “The Surgeon” ended that series at 53-4-1, but ultimately hung up the gloves 9 years later at 58-18-1, running afoul of Khalid Rahilou, Antonio Margarito, Peter Manfredo, and Chavez himself along the way.
We wish Randall’s friends and family the best and hope that they remain safe and healthy.