Matanzas.-This Tuesday, around five o’clock in the afternoon, the striker Orestes Pedroso made his last fight, at the age of 73. His heart raced, his fierce rival out of the ring.
The legendary boxer, whose physical strength and constant blow gave him great authority over him ringIt was easy to identify, because in front of him no opponent questioned his courage. Among those who “never threw in the towel.”
He became one of the most important names in Cuban boxing after his surprising victory against the American Leon Spinks, in the discussion for the gold medal in the lightweight division, during the Pan American Games in Mexico (1975). Low on the scoreboard, the man from Matanzas came out in the third round to win at any cost and ended up winning a close duel, in which he even suffered a fracture in one of his hands.
It was the fight that raised him, because the American would later become a legend. A year later, Spinks defeated Sixto Soria at the Montreal Olympics, and later became world heavyweight professional boxing champion, against none other than the legendary Muhammad Ali. Interestingly, Spinks died of prostate cancer in February last year at the age of 67.
Another memory that those who knew Pedroso will keep best was his simplicity, the man who never forgot his origins and who liked to talk to those who asked him in the middle of the street.