Raúl Macías facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Raúl Macías |
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| Real name | Raúl Macías Guevara | ||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Ratón Macías | ||||||||||
| Rated at | Bantamweight | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||
| Reach | 1.61 m (63 in) | ||||||||||
| Nationality | Mexican | ||||||||||
| Born | July 28, 1934 Mexico City, Mexico |
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| Died | March 23, 2009 (aged 74) Mexico City, Mexico |
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| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||
| Total fights | 43 | ||||||||||
| Wins | 41 | ||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 25 | ||||||||||
| Losses | 2 | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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Raúl Macías Guevara (born July 28, 1934, in Mexico City – died March 23, 2009) was a famous Mexican professional boxer. People knew him best as "Ratón" Macías, which means "Mouse" Macías. He was also an actor and a boxing trainer. Raúl Macías became the NBA World Bantamweight Champion on March 9, 1955. He also won a bronze medal at the 1951 Pan American Games.
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Early Life and Amateur Boxing
Raúl Macías was born in Tepito, a neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico. He was always very proud of being Mexican.
He started his boxing journey when he was just fourteen years old. As an amateur, he won several national titles. He earned a bronze medal at the Pan American Games. Later, he represented Mexico at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. In the Olympics, he won his first fight against Angel Amaya from Venezuela. However, he then lost to Gennady Garbuzov from the Soviet Union.
Becoming a Professional Boxer
Raúl Macías started his professional boxing career on January 1, 1953. His first fight was in Culiacán, Mexico, where he won by knockout in the first round. Just one month later, in his second fight, he won a ten-round match.
He quickly built a strong record of 8 wins with no losses. Then, he fought Beto Couray for the Mexican Bantamweight title. Raúl won the national championship in a 12-round decision. After winning 6 more fights, he challenged Nate Brooks for the North American Bantamweight championship. He won this title too, in a 12-round decision.
Macías became one of the first boxing stars on Televisa, a big TV network in Mexico. Many people watched his fights live on TV during the 1950s.
Winning the World Bantamweight Title
In 1955, the National Boxing Association (NBA) declared their World Bantamweight title empty. This happened because the champion, Robert Cohen, did not want to defend his title against Macías. So, the NBA decided that Macías and Chamroen Songkitrat would fight for the championship.
This was Macías' first time fighting for a world title and his first fight outside Mexico. On March 9, 1955, in San Francisco, California, Macías showed amazing speed and power. He knocked out Songkitrat in the eleventh round to become the NBA World Bantamweight Champion. He knocked Songkitrat down twice in the sixth round. From then on, Macías controlled the fight. The referee stopped the fight in the eleventh round after Songkitrat was knocked down again.
After winning the world title, Macías had several fights that were not for the championship. On June 16, 1955, he had his first loss. Billy Peacock knocked him out in the third round in Los Angeles. Macías suffered a broken jaw in this fight and had to go to the hospital. This was the only time he was knocked out in his career.
Raúl Macías was very popular in California and Texas, where he fought many times. He won a ten-round decision against Cecil Schoonmaker in Texas.
Defending and Losing the Title
Macías won five more fights before defending his NBA world Bantamweight title for the first time. He fought Leo Espinoza in Mexico City on March 25, 1956. A huge crowd of 50,000 people watched him win by knockout in the tenth round.
He continued to win non-title fights against strong opponents. On November 21, 1956, he defeated Gaetano Annaloro in Texas. Macías used his left hand very well in this fight. On February 10, 1957, he knocked out Juan Cardenas in Mexico City. He knocked Cardenas down ten times before the fight ended in the sixth round.
After seven more wins, Macías defended his title again on June 15, 1957, against Dommy Ursua in San Francisco. Macías was knocked down early in the fight. But he came back strong and knocked out Ursua in the eleventh round. He used his height advantage to land powerful body blows.
His last title fight was on November 6, 1957, against Alphonse Halimi in Los Angeles. It was a very close fight that went all 15 rounds. Macías lost his championship by a split decision, which means the judges were divided on who won.
Life After Boxing
Raúl Macías stopped boxing in 1959 after winning a ten-round fight against Ernesto Parra. He came back for one last charity match on October 13, 1962, in Guadalajara, where he won by knockout.
After retiring from boxing, Macías became an actor. He appeared in several Mexican TV shows called telenovelas. One of his most famous roles was in "Mi Pequeña Soledad" in 1990. He also starred in movies like El Raton (1957) and Llanto, risas e nocaut (1974). In Llanto, risas e nocaut, he acted alongside another great boxer, Ruben Olivares.
Later in his life, Macías dedicated himself to training other boxers in Mexico City. His professional boxing record was very impressive: 41 wins and only 2 losses. He won 25 of his fights by knockout. Raúl Macías passed away at the age of 74.
See also
- List of world bantamweight boxing champions
- List of Mexican boxing world champions
