Edwin Rosario Is Dead at 34; Troubled Boxing Champion

Edwin (Chapo) Rosario, a three-time world champion boxer whose career inside the ring was marked by brilliance and whose later life outside the ring was marred by drug abuse, died Monday night at his parents' home in Toa Baja, P.R. He was 34.

An autopsy performed on Rosario yesterday determined that he died from pulmonary edema, an excessive buildup of fluid in the lungs. Officer William Perez of the Toa Baja Police Department said in a telephone conversation that investigators believed drugs contributed to his death. The director of Puerto Rico's Institute of Forensic Medicine, Yocasta Brugal, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying that ''the death could be from intoxication from alcohol or narcotics use,'' but that authorities wouldn't be certain until toxicology reports were complete in two to three weeks.

According to Toa Baja police reports, Rosario visited his four daughters at his former wife's house on Monday night at 7, and returned to his parents' home an hour later saying that he felt ill. Rosario went to his room and lay down. His father, Antonio, went to check on him 45 minutes later, found him unconscious and called the police. Officer Perez said Rosario was dead when the police arrived at the house.

Felix Zabala, Rosario's manager and promoter, said Rosario was training for a fight in January and that he had successfully fought five bouts in a comeback that began earlier this year. ''He had a five-year layoff due to drug problems,'' Zabala said. ''But last December he went into a drug rehabilitation center for nine months, and when he came out he said he was ready to start boxing again.''

Rosario fought at Madison Square Garden last Aug. 23, knocking out Sanford Ricks in Round 8. At the time, Rosario had talked about his five-year battle with drugs, saying it had cost him his wife, his homes, his cars and a year of his life, which he spent in jail in San Juan, and his career. But he was confident that he would fight for another world championship in 1998.

Rosario's last fight was a victory against Harold Bennett in Bayamon, P.R., on Sept. 25. He had a career record of 43-6, with 37 knockouts.

Edwin Rosario was born March 19, 1963, in Ingenio, a barrio of Toa Baja. His mother, Isabel, was a nurse's aide, and his father, Antonio, was a fisherman with a passion for cockfights, which are legal in Puerto Rico. Rosario later shared his father's love for cockfights and opened an arena where cockfights are held.

Growing up, Rosario was given the nickname Chapo, a shortened version of chaparrito, which means ''little man.'' At age 9 he wandered into the Lecittown Gym in his neighborhood and became one of the best students of the trainer Manny Sciaca, who turned Rosario into one of the most skilled fighters to come from Puerto Rico.

Rosario won his first world championship in 1983, defeating Jose Luis Ramirez in a 12-round decision for the World Boxing Council lightweight title. In 1986, Rosario lost the title to Hector Camacho in a controversial split decision at Madison Square Garden. Later in 1986, he knocked out Livingstone Bramble in the second round for the World Boxing Association lightweight championship. Rosario kept the title until 1990, when he was stopped in the 11th round by Julio Cesar Chavez.

Rosario is survived by his mother and father, and four daughters, Ruby Yanina, 13; Gloria Isabel, 12; Leonela, 10, and Alma Linda, 8.