Punchers from thePast: Ricardo Moreno
By Eric Armit
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 27 Jul 2023
Ricardo Moreno
Born Chalchihuites, Mexico 7 February 1937
Died Durango 24 June 2008 aged 71
Turned pro 16 June 1954
Record: 73 fights 60 wins (59 by KO/TK0) 12 loses 1 draw
Beat: Henry Pappy Gault, Jesse Monguia, Oscar Suarez Tommy Bain, Ike Chestnut, Silverio Ortiz, Danny Kid
Lost to: Hogan Kid Bassey, Davey Moore, Claudio Adame, Raul Rojas, Alex Benitez. Silverio Ortiz
-Of his 59 wins inside the distance 40 came in the first three rounds
-The only fight he won by other than KO/TKO was a disqualification
- He lost eight times by KO/TKO so only five of his seventy-three fights went the distance
-In 2003 Ring Magazine listed him at 76 in the list of hardest punchers in the history of boxing
- His only title shot came in April 1958 when he was knocked out in the third round when challenging Hogan Kid Bassey for the featherweight title
-He is reported to have turned professional without any amateur experience although one manager said he had won a silver medal at a Golden Gloves tournament
“Pajarito-Little Bird” Left school early to work in the mines at Chalchihuites before travelling to Mexico City where he worked as a parking lot attendant. He turned professional at the age of 17 and won 19 of his first 20 fights by KO/TKO. He won the Mexican featherweight title and his electrifying power quickly made him an idol of Mexican fight fans. He scored twelve inside the distance wins in 1955 and scored a big win over Cuban Oscar Suarez in 1956 with Suarez being ranked No 8 in the world and later that year Moreno was ranked No 6 featherweight in the world. He was just 20 and now drawing huge crowds and earning lots of money. He bought a house for his mother, a boat for partying at sea, bought a restaurant in Acapulco and a Cadillac with gold hub caps and lost money when buying two race horses and betting on cockfights. He was also now mixing with the Jet Set having a former Miss Universe Contestant for a girlfriend. He made two films and was introduced to drugs. The fight with Hogan Kid Bassey in April 1958 drew a crowd of 20,000 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles but the good times were coming to an end for the 21-year-old knockout artist. He was stopped inside a round by future world champion Davey Moore in December 1958 and lost on points to Kid Anahuac and Kid Irapuato in 1960 and to Cladio Adame in 1961. He then put together a winning run of 22 fights but against poor opponents and for little money. He suffered back-to-back losses against future WBA champion Raul Rojas in 1966 and his life was falling apart. He was taking drugs and drinking heavily and after losses to Alex Benitez and Silverio Ortiz in 1967 he had his licence withdrawn and his money and “friends”had disappeared. He spent some time in a psychiatric hospital, wandered the streets and slept on a cardboard box in a gym. His fall had been as rapid as his rise and he died in a rehabilitation centre in Durango at the age of 71.
About the Author
Born in Scotland, Eric Armit started working with Boxing News magazine in the UK in the late 1960’s initially doing records for their Boxing News Annual and compiling World, European and Commonwealth ratings for the magazine. He wrote his first feature article for Boxing News in 1973 and wrote a “World Scene” weekly column for the magazine from the late 1970’s until 2004. Armit wrote a monthly column for Boxing Digest in the USA and contributed pieces to magazines in Mexico, Italy, Australia, Spain, Argentina and other countries. Armit now writes a Weekly Report covering every major fight around the world and a bi-weekly Snips & Snipes column plus occasional general interest articles with these being taken up by boxing sites around the world. He was a member of the inaugural WBC Ratings Committee and a technical advisor to the EBU Ratings Committee and was consulted by John McCain’s research team when they were drafting the Ali Act. He is a Director and former Chairman of the Commonwealth Boxing Council. Armit has been nominated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame the past two years (2019 and 2020) to which he said, “Being on the list is an unbelievably huge honour.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit.
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