José Ruíz Matos

José "Cheíto" Ruíz Matos (October 24, 1966 – February 28, 1997) 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, 1997, Ruíz was ambushed and shot while traveling through one of San Juan's barrios, receiving six bullet wounds that fatally injured him.

Youth and early professional career José Ruíz was born in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, to José Ramón Ruíz and Rosa Matos de Jesús. By the time that Ruíz reached 17 years of age, he was already married to Gloria Esther Conde. On July 5, 1984, the pugilist signed his first professional contract, being managed by Lilliamery Valentín Conde, who presented the official documentation before the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission. Ruíz's career was subsequently managed by Video Deportes, a company owned by businesswoman Ivonne Class. When he was 18 years old, Ruiz debuted as a professional, competing in the super flyweight division. Rojas from Colombia was a former WBC champion and entered the fight with a record of 31-2. Despite his opponent's experience advantage, Ruíz began the offensive by using his speed to land body punches, gaining control of the fight's tempo. In his first defense, Ruíz defeated Juan "Curie" Carazo by knockout in the first round. On October 21, 1989, he defeated Ángel "Cuso" Rosario by knockout in the twelfth round. His next opponent was the IBF super flyweight champion, Robert Quiroga, who won a close majority decision with scores of 114-114 and 113-114 twice. Ruíz was able to score a knockdown in the third round of this contest. Quiroga was originally scheduled to fight another Puerto Rican, Rafael "Baby" Cabán, who had to withdraw because of injury, opening the space to Ruíz. Domingo Álvarez, the coroner that attended the scene, noted that the pugilist's body displayed six bullets wounds that presumably caused his death instantly. According to the official report filed by Álvarez, Ruíz was exiting Villas de Lomas Verdes, a condominium in the district of Cupey, in his vehicle, when two unknown assailants approached the vehicle on foot and opened fire at close range, subsequently fleeing the scene. After an extensive trial, judge José Torres Caraballo sentenced two culprits for the murder. Ruíz was survived by eight daughters.