Sixto Escobar

Sixto Escobar (March 23, 1913 – November 17, 1979) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. Competing in the bantamweight division, he was Puerto Rico's first world champion and a two-time Undisputed Bantamweight World Champion.

Escobar was born in Barceloneta and raised in San Juan. There he received his primary education and took interest in boxing. After gathering a record of 21–1–1 as an amateur, Escobar debuted as a professional in 1931 defeating Luis "Kid Dominican" Pérez by knockout. Early in his career, he moved to Venezuela due to the lack of opponents in his division. There he received an opportunity for the Venezuelan Bantamweight championship, but lost by points to Enrique Chaffardet. Subsequently, he moved to New York and began boxing in other states, eventually capturing the Montreal Athletic Commission World Bantamweight Title. In 1936, he defeated Tony Marino to unify this championship with the one recognized by the International Boxing Union, in the process becoming the third Latin American undisputed world boxing champion. After retiring, he worked as a spokesperson for beer companies in New York, before returning to Puerto Rico in the 1960s, where he resided until his death. He received several posthumous recognitions and his name was used in several sports venues and buildings. In 2002, Escobar was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Early life and amateur career Escobar was born in La Boca in Barrio Palmas Altas, a sector of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, to Jacinto Escobar and Adela Vargas. Early in his life, he moved to Tras Talleres in Santurce, a subsection of San Juan, Puerto Rico. There he received his elementary and secondary education, up until the seventh grade, when he decided to dedicate himself full-time to his sports career. In Puerto Rico, Escobar fought in 15 contests, before moving to Venezuela after the popularity of professional boxing declined in his home country. In this contest he was paired against Canadian bantamweight titleholder Bobby Leitham, defeating him by technical knockout in the seventh round.

Escobar's manager, Lou Brix and his trainer recognized that Escobar could be close to a championship fight once the incumbent, Panamian Alfonso Teófilo Brown, refused to defend the championship against the first contender, which led to it being stripped by the National Boxing Association (NBA). He spent a month in inactivity while recovering, and in the winter he returned to Puerto Rico. However, Escobar still wasn't considered the division's Undisputed Champion because Balthazar Sangchili had defeated Panama Al Brown and was recognized by the IBU. Due to this, Sanstol sent a letter to the NYSAC noting that the fight was of eliminatory nature, even though it was recognized as a titular contest by the NBA and MAC. Wanting to be recognized as such, Escobar pursued a title unification fight against Tony Marino, who had defeated Sangchili by knockout in his previous fight. On April 2, 1939, Escobar defeated Kayo Morgan before a sold-out crowd of 15,000 at the Estadio Sixto Escobar, which had been inaugurated three years earlier. Later in 1939, Escobar received a draft notice from the United States Army, ordering him to take a physical exam for possible military service. He and his manager presented the issue to the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission, managing to receive a postponement of two months before surrendering his title. He became a spokesman for a liquor brand and relocated to New York temporally, with his family. Subsequently, he returned to Puerto Rico where he worked selling liquor in bars. In May 1947, Escobar and Jiménez Sicardó co-promoted a fight with the intention of bringing fans back to boxing. In the main event, Diego Sosa was matched against Francisco Colón García. Escobar was inducted into the Madison Square Garden's Boxing Hall of Fame in 1950. He became the fourth Puerto Rican to receive this distinction and the first to be included in the "Old Timers" section. During this date, an activity was presented by Puerto Rico's House of Boxing in the library of the Pabellón de la Fama del Deporte Puertorriqueño.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing Major world titles NYSAC bantamweight champion (118 lbs) (2×) NBA (WBA) bantamweight champion (118 lbs) (3×)

The Ring magazine titles The Ring bantamweight champion (118 lbs) (2×)

Regional/International titles Montreal Athletic Commission bantamweight champion (118 lbs)

Undisputed titles Undisputed bantamweight champion (2×)

Boxing Hall of Fame