ANDBoxing is a confrontation between equals. Two men. Or women. Same weight. Same height. Same physical condition. Same emotion. Same ambition to beat the opponent. The rest is a matter of skill and endurance, strength and technique; strategy, intelligence and mental agility to come out ahead in a fight of powerful blows…
These are blows that are like bursts of lightning, like thunder, like hammers that hit the chest, the face, the stomach, the liver of each fighter. And these blows should not be given below the belt or when the other fighter is on the ground or behind his back, and even more so because it is a rule of protection and honorability. All this after a historic regulation to govern how boxing should be, as a confrontation, as a sport and as a spectacle.
Boxing, boxing, boxing… a cruel and inhuman spectacle, it is said; or the fight of two human beings in which they use their bodies to confront each other and to decide who is best in a fight in which they sacrifice their bodies and their minds, to win glory, triumph and to place themselves on the threshold of deity.
In any case, boxing (from the English boxing) or pugilism, is a combat sport and a martial art in which two opponents fight using only their fists with gloves, hitting their opponent from the waist up, inside a ring specially designed for that purpose; the fight takes place in short fighting sequences called rounds and according to precise regulations, which regulate weight categories and duration of the match and other aspects.
Professional boxers sacrifice their bodies in order to demonstrate their power, their ability, their endurance and to obtain a very juicy economic gain when they have achieved success and recognition from the public who, in boxing, demands everything, shouts everything, everything is not enough for them.
Boxers are “brats” because they endure everything in the ring, and outside the ring in a frenetic activity of training, practice, exercise day after day without time limits. Even so, they are often seen with a broken nose, scars on their eyelids, on their cheeks. And sometimes some of them have lost their lives despite the fact that there are rules to protect them.
In the movie “Pepe the Bull” (1953) by Ismael Rodríguez, Pedro Infante is the character himself. In one of the frequent economic crises that he experiences in his poverty, he seeks refuge in boxing. At first, he does as well as in a fair, but he has the help of a good friend who guides him in this sport-business, Lalo Gallardo (Joaquín Cordero). Little by little”Pepe… “achieves triumphs on a tour across the country.
He returns to the capital as a victorious boxer and it is then that he will have to face the champion of his weight, Lalo Gallardo, his friend. In a bloody fight Gallardo dies. He accidentally killed his friend. He never forgives himself. Even so, he has to continue and continues, until he becomes a great champion, in honor of his dead friend.
Mexican films in which boxing is presented as a focus of victories or failures, but also of intrigues and revenge. It’s a matter of scripts. Glorious works like that one called “Champion without a Crown” (1946) by Alejandro Galindo, based on the life of Rodolfo”the monkey“Casanova.”The great champion” (1949) by Chano Urueta. And many more until reaching “V for Victor” (2024) by Frank Ariza.
Is boxing part of the national culture? Not really. But it is an important part of the pleasure and fun of those who find it fascinating to see their favourite boxer, their boxing idol, their winner win… even though they often later see that figure fall from grace due to his excesses…
Or perhaps this has been part of the boxing cycle in Mexico. Anonymity, the struggle to get a place in the boxing world, triumph, wealth, opulence, excesses, loss of faculties, then others come with greater drive and younger, and after the excesses, precariousness.
It is also true that many of them have managed to free themselves from this atavism and have finished their sporting cycle with all the lights on and with a healthy and uncomplicated life:
Raul “The Mouse” Macías was one of them. He was born in the Tepito neighborhood, in what was then the Federal District. In 1955 he won the world bantamweight championship of the National Boxing Association – the precursor organization of the World Boxing Association. He won a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 1951 and the VI Central American and Caribbean Games in the same year.
His many fights throughout his professional career made him a very important idol in the Mexican community. He was one of the most beloved boxers by fans, not only for his professional quality but also for his charm.
“El Ratón” Macías is credited with that emblematic phrase he said at the end of a fight that he won, but with his face contorted and bloodied by the fight he stated that “I owe everything to my manager and the Virgin of Guadalupe.”
And like him, there were many more in Mexican boxing. And for many years it was the sport-spectacle (which became an empire) that most interested the national public after football. Today, not so much.
But for many years it was, and those were the years in which idols emerged who are unforgettable in the popular taste. However, suddenly, professional or Olympic boxing began to be seen as an extreme and dangerous spectacle.
There have been boxers at the height of the art in Mexico: Julio César Chávez, Ricardo “The Finite” Lopez, Carlos “The Cañas” Zarate, Ruben “The Spikes” Olivares, the said Raul “The Mouse” Macias, Salvador “Salt“Sánchez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Érik”The Terrible” Morales, Guadalupe “Lupe” Painter, Lauro “Tigrillo” Salas, Juan Manuel “Dynamite” Marquez, Ultiminio “Sugar” Ramos (of Cuban origin, although naturalized Mexican); Vicente “The Golden Lefty” Saldivar, Jose “Butter“Napoleon (Cuban, naturalized Mexican), Jesus”Mutt” Castle, Jose “Pipino” Caves, Daniel Zaragoza, Jorge “The Naughty One” Maple and very recent Saul “The Cinnamon” Alvarez, among many others.
In fact, it was in 1943 when the tournament of the “Golden Gloves“amateur boxing. This aimed to train young boxers for professional boxing.
From these tournaments emerged talents such as Fili Nava, Edel Ojeda, Ricardo “Birdie” Moreno, Jose “Toluco” Lopez, Jose “Huitlacoche“Medel, Memo Diez, Lauro Salas and José Becerra. Some of them managed to become world champions in their different categories: José Becerra and Lauro Salas, for example. And one of the most outstanding boxers of this generation is the oft-mentioned Raúl.”Mouse” Macias.
According to records, boxing is of African origin and dates back to 6,000 BC, in the area of present-day Ethiopia, from where it spread to the ancient Egyptian civilization and to the Mesopotamian civilizations. Bas-reliefs from India have been discovered showing boxers in a confrontational attitude, dating back to 5,500 BC and from then onwards through Greece and Italy.
In modern times, the first records of a boxing match are located in England in 1681: the Duke of Albermarle organized for the first time a fight between his butler and his butcher: the butcher won… and not exactly because of his good manners in the fight… ahem.
In Mexico, the first boxing match was in 1895, when the governor of Hidalgo, Rafael Cravioto, granted authorization for a boxing match to be held.
From then on, this sport-show-martial art-business became one of the most popular with the public, especially men, although the female public also likes it. matches and there is even women’s boxing with great boxers and champions.
On Saturday nights we would go watch TV. On Union Street. It was an ‘Admiral’ and at 9 pm, it would show “el box”. Thirty cents per person. And there we were watching the fights in black and white. Everyone around us was shouting, cheering, and insulting any mistake or violation of the rules made by the boxers. “Not in the face…! Not in the face!” shouted the ladies present.
And when they raised the winner’s hand, the crowd roared and we – the children – ended up practicing the punches, the jab, the uppercut and so on and so forth… The winner of this fight is…!” “Bravo! Uhhh!” “Shut up, you annoying face!”