His name is included in the selected list of the immortals of boxing. A statue of his, like an ebony God, honors his memory in one of the entrances of the famous Madison Square Garden, in New York.
"Yiyi", as he was nicknamed by his friends, conquered the glory with his own fists and he had such quality that he once had simultaneously the world belts of professional boxing in the lightweight division (1931) and welterweight division (1932).
He was born on January 6th, 1910 in a very humble home of the El Cerro neighborhood in Havana. He could only have access to the most elemental studies. He died during the summer of 1988.
Luis Felipe "Pincho" Gutiérrez, a famous trainer of that time, started to polish the style of the kid, who departed to New York in 1928 with the dream of reaching the sky.
Only a year after that, he defeated an experienced boxer like Al Singer and his victories were so important that quickly took him to stardom.
He was making a lot of money, but he spent it as quickly as he punched his rivals. His lifestyle became extremely unordered, however, his exceptional conditions allowed him to thou glory.
On August 7th, 1930, Kid Chocolate lost his colossal unbeaten condition when he was defeated in Havana by Kid Berg, English boxer aged 21. The following year, he won ten fights and lost only one against Tony Canzoneri, but Berg defeated him again in 1932. In that period he won 19 fights in all.
His career is enviable: 126 victories, 10 defeats and 6 ties. He knocked out 44 rivals and received just a couple of KO's.
A few years ago, someone wrote: "The grandeur of Kid was such that he had the very same Broadway in the pocket of his flawless white vest."