Articles Ezines ? Mexican Boxing Legend Carlos Palomino In Profile

The US mainstream sports media likes to proclaim certain athletes as good or bad ?role models?, but they?re almost single minded in their obsession with winning. Great NBA players like John Stockton, or NFL players like Dan Marino are criticized for never having won ?the big one?.

The mainstream sports media also likes to depict boxing as a repository of sleaze, but the reality is that more so than other sports ?the sweet science? cares about ?how the game is played?. Boxing pundits place great emphasis on the competitive quality of a fight?great fights like the Morales-Barrera trilogy, Hagler-Hearns or Hagler-Leonard are considered such for the heart and resolve shown by the fighters, not because of who won. The 2004 fight between current ?pound for pound? king Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Marquez is a perfect example?despite breathtaking action from start to finish the fight was ultimately ruled a draw.

Fighters can even be criticized for not having any losses on their record. While the highest level fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Rocky Marciano are certainly exceptions, an undefeated record can often suggest a poor level of opponent as much as it does fistic superiority. A glossy won/loss record alone isn?t enough to cement a legacy of greatness in the glorious history of boxing?that has to be earned inside the ring with heart, skill, toughness and character.

The true greats distinguish themselves both by how they ?play the game? as well as their championship accomplishments. Few fit that description more aptly than Mexican welterweight great Carlos Palomino. The native of Sonora, Mexico rose to prominence by holding the welterweight title during the late?70?s. During this time, he set a laudable example by becoming the first reigning world champion boxer to earn his college degree.

Palomino immigrated from Mexico as a child and began to train in boxing as a teenager. He showed a lot of promise as an amateur, but delayed his professional debut until?72 in order to serve in the US Army. While enlisted, he became All Army Welterweight Champion and won the national AAU championship. After turning pro, he worked his way up the ranks steadily until he finally won the title in June?76. Palomino scored a TKO victory over Englishman John Stracey in London, England and would defend his belt seven times before dropping the title via split decision to another first rate champion in Wilfred Benitez. He lost his next fight to yet another great in Roberto Duran, and decided to retire from the ring. He posted a credible 4-1 record during a late?90?s comeback before deciding to retire for good.

Palomino got into acting after his boxing career came to a close, and has worked steadily both in television and film. He?s also done a number of commercials, most famously the early Miller Light Beer ?tastes great/less filling? TV spots.

In the ring, Palomino was something of a hybrid of Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales?a very intelligent, technically sound fighter with deceptive power. His best power shot was a left hook, but he?d more frequently break his opponent down with a punishing body attack. He may have been a more tactical competitor than the prototypical blood and guts Mexican fighter, but a worthy claimant to the proud tradition of great fighters from south of the border.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on Pay Per Head. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and Price per head sites.

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