Carlos Palomino (born August 10, 1949) is a Mexican former professional boxer. Palomino is a former World Welterweight Champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Palomino is also an actor who has been featured in several television shows and films. He achieved a considerable amount of fame during the 1970s, especially among Mexican and Southern California fans. Early life He moved to Los Angeles, California from his native Mexico when he was ten years old. Amateur boxing career Palomino was an All-U.S. Army champion in 1971 and 1972. As an amateur, Palomino won the 1972 National AAU Light Welterweight Champion at 137 lb., defeating eventual Olympic gold medalist Ray Seales. He was discharged from the Army later that year and enrolled at Orange Coast College and later Long Beach State, where he obtained a degree. Professional boxing career In 1972, his name was becoming better known in California. This was likely caused by the number of his fights taking place there. He won five fights (one by knockout) in 1973. In 1974, Palomino went through an increment in quality of opposition. He won six fights and lost one. He beat David Arellano twice, by a decision in ten and by knockout in nine, as well as Tommy Howard, by decision in ten, but he lost to Andy Price, who was a title contender at the time, by decision in ten in San Diego. In 1975, he won four fights, and drew in two. He and Zovek Baraja had two bouts that year, the first one resulting in a ten-round draw and the second one being a nine-round knockout win for Palomino. He also drew with Hedgemon Lewis. WBC Welterweight Championship After winning two fights in 1976, Palomino found himself and his trainers travelling to London, where an internationally televised world championship bout awaited him against WBC world Welterweight champion John H. Stracey, a British boxing teacher who had dethroned José Nápoles as world champion. Palomino became a world champion on the night of June 22 of that year at Wembley Arena, after Stracey eventually succumbed to a blistering body attack and was put on the canvas twice from left hooks to the liver. Many Mexicans who viewed Nápoles, a Cuban born resident of Mexico, as another countryman, saw this as a revenge from Stracey. He waited six months for his next fight, against another very popular boxer