It took over 180 years for the reason that first official boxing rules have been drawn up within the 1740s—and roughly 40 extra after 1889, when the fashionable guidelines attributed to the Marquess of Queensberry (although truly written by coach and journalist William Graham Chambers) got here into play—for a Latin American fighter to etch his title into historical past as a world champion. However when it lastly occurred, the person who did it did so with aptitude, grace, and gloves laced with greatness.
His title was Alfonso Teófilo Brown—recognized to the world merely as Al “Panama” Brown. A towering bantamweight from Colón, Panama, Brown grew to become the first Latin American boxer to win a world title, blazing a path that might be adopted by generations of fighters from south of the border.
Born on July 5, 1902, on the Atlantic coast of the land of the Canal, Brown rose from humble beginnings. Orphaned by his father at 13, and raised by a hard-working mom named Esther Eashley who made her residing as a cleaner, Brown’s story was by no means meant to be straightforward. However in boxing, that’s not an obstacle—it’s a ceremony of passage.
Together with his fists as his passport, Brown toured the world and constructed a legacy throughout greater than a dozen international locations—combating within the U.S., France, Spain, England, Morocco, Italy, Belgium, Algeria, Switzerland, and past. He reveled within the bohemian life, befriending artists and stars in Paris. However fame and fortune light. On April 11, 1951, Brown was discovered on forty second Avenue in New York, mistaken for a homeless drunk. Just a few hours later, he handed away, penniless and sick with tuberculosis, in a hospital mattress at Sea View Hospital. It was 74 years in the past this previous Friday.
A tragic ending, little question—however one that can’t tarnish his legacy. As a result of who can take the bell from the cat’s neck? Nobody. Al “Panama” Brown scaled boxing’s Everest, utilizing nothing however leather-based gloves and sheer will.
His title deserves everlasting respect from all who love the candy science. His flamboyant life, lived on his personal phrases, made him not only a boxing legend however an icon of Afro-Latin American id and resistance. It’s no shock that The Ring Journal named him among the many 80 best fighters of all time.
Brown’s skilled journey started at age 20, with a six-round determination win over José Moreno on March 29, 1922, in his hometown of Colón. After six extra bouts, he set his sights on New York searching for larger alternatives.
He suffered his first loss in December 1923, after 13 fights (10 wins, 3 attracts, 7 KOs), falling to Willie LaMorte. However that didn’t cease him. He saved combating—and successful—for 2 extra a long time. His farewell got here in Panama, the place he was nonetheless revered, with a 10-round determination over Child Fortune in 1942.
Brown was by no means knocked out. He might have been disqualified a number of occasions, however he by no means heard the referee depend to 10 over him. Some information say he went 123-18-10 with 55 knockouts. Others record 133-18-13 with 60 KOs—both manner, these numbers put him in elite KO territory.
The Street to Glory
Brown claimed the NYSAC World Bantamweight Title on June 18, 1929, with a 15-round determination over Spain’s Gregorio Vidal on the Queensboro Stadium in Lengthy Island. In February 1930, he added the NBA (now WBA) title with a fourth-round DQ win over Johnny Erickson, then unified each straps in Montreal later that 12 months by defeating France’s Eugene Huat.
He efficiently defended his crown throughout Europe, beating Italy’s Child Francis in Marseille, Emile Pladner in Casablanca (KO1), Domenico Bernasconi in Milan, and Johnny King in Manchester. He twice outboxed the damaging Tunisian Younger Pérez—first in Paris, then in Tunisia.
However the out-of-ring life-style caught up with him. On June 1, 1935, a light Brown misplaced his titles on factors to Spain’s Baltasar Sangchili. The “Spanish Bulldog” had already crushed him in a non-title bout months earlier. Although Brown acquired revenge in Paris in 1938—successful the vacant IBU title—by then the division’s acknowledged king was Puerto Rico’s Sixto Escobar, who had develop into the primary champion from the Island of Enchantment.
Brown would battle 10 to 12 extra occasions within the U.S. and Europe earlier than heading again dwelling, the place he twice did not seize Panama’s nationwide featherweight title from Eduardo Carrasco. He lastly hung up the gloves after beating Child Fortune on December 4, 1942.
Later, he left Panama one last time—broke, damaged, and alone—and returned to New York. There, on that fateful April day in 1951, the first Spanish-speaking fighter to ever put on a world championship belt misplaced his last battle: the one in opposition to life itself.
Brown was rightfully inducted into the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame in 1990, almost 4 a long time after his demise.
He was 5’11” (1.80 meters)—a skyscraper at bantamweight. He towered over his opponents, danced round them with lightning pace, and struck with a mixture of finesse, crafty, and when wanted, uncooked energy. He may outbox you, outfox you—or just put you to sleep.
However above all, Al “Panama” Brown opened the doorways. And thru them walked each Latin American world champion who got here after him. For that, the game—and the world—owes him every thing.
