ABSTRACT
In addition to his prolific and influential career as a poet and political activist, Mexican American Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzáles was also an accomplished boxer. 1 Like most Latin Americans and U.S. Latinos who have made a name for themselves and their countries/communities in the ruthless sport of boxing, Gonzáles grew up in a tough barrio amid poverty. Why does boxing continue to draw attention despite its inherent violence? Some sociologists claim that it provides a means to survive in economically hard-hit urban areas. In fact, “the greatest numbers of fighters have come from the ranks of the most impoverished segments of society” (Heisnaken 2012: 2). Mexican boxers and boxers of Mexican origin have been a constant presence in the sport in the United States since the 1920s, like California native Bert Colima or Mexicans Rodolfo Casanova, Alberto Arizmendi, Manuel Villa, and Luis Villanueva (Maldonado and Zamora 1999: 32–33). For the past few decades, boxing in the United States has been dominated by people of color, “with Latinos generally controlling the lighter weight categories and African American boxers heading the divisions from middleweight upward” (Heisnaken 2012: 2). In Latin America, boxing has become one of the most popular sports alongside soccer and baseball—and in countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico, boxing is only rivaled by baseball. The region has produced legendary pugilists that have left a permanent mark on the world stage and in their countries’ national imaginaries: Argentine Carlos Monzón, Puerto Rican Félix “Tito” Trinidad, Mexican Julio César Chavez, Nicaraguan Alexis Argüello, and Panamanian Roberto Durán, just to name a few.
