Former CMLL champion died Karloff Lagarde Jr. on Friday, December 13. He was 54 years old.
César Baltazar de Lucio Valencia was the nephew of Karloff Lagarde, a well-recognized and highly-respected name. His uncle had given him permission to use his ring name.
Making his debut in 1992, Lagarde Jr. quickly ascended up the Universal Wrestling Association, winning the promotion’s Welterweight title as he defeated Celestial on December 13, 1993. He would hold this title for well over a year, eventually losing it to Hijo del Santo.
After UWA closed, Lagarde Jr. spent a short amount of time in AAA before settling in CMLL. This was where his uncle had gained popularity and made a name for himself in the 1960s and 1970s. He’d wrestled in a “Second Generation Tag Team Tournament”, his partner being Scorpio Jr. They would lose in the first round to El Hijo del Solitario and Negro Casas.
Across three promotions, Lagarde Jr. obtained four titles. Two of them were in CMLL, one in Universal Lucha Libre, and the UWA Welterweight title.
The death was confirmed by Dave Meltzer in his Wrestling observer newsletter Friday.
Catching word that Karloff Lagarde Jr passed away today. I remember he had a small run in AAA around 1995 where he was feuding with Rey Jr, but after that AAA run, he went to CMLL and won the World Welterweight title and the Mexican National Welterweight title. I’ll check around… pic.twitter.com/jrHIAY7Dfp
— Roy Lucier (@roylucier) December 13, 2024
Funeral details have yet to be announced.