Armando Ramos was a Mexican-American professional boxer and the former two-time WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

 and WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 Lightweight

Lightweight

Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....

 Champion. He was born in Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

. Armando "Mando" Ramos was one of the most popular and exciting fighters in Southern California during the 1960s. Ramos was an outstanding amateur standout. Most boxing fans remember that he could out-box most fighters without getting touched, but because his punches packed knockout power he would preferred to duke it.

Professional career

Mando Ramos turned pro at age 17 using a forged birth certificate. Mando went on to fight the main event at the storied Olympic Auditorium by his 8th pro fight. At the age of 18 Mando defeated the reigning Jr. Lightweight Champ, Japan's Yoshiro Kobayashi in a non-title bout. When offered a re-match for the title, the cocky Ramos refused to fight for a 'Junior' title.

World Lightweight Champion

He demanded to fight dangerous Lightweight Champ Carlos Ortiz—Ortiz had dominated the division for over a decade. Negotiations were in place, but Ortiz was upset by 'Teo' Cruz and so Ramos took the fight to the new champ, narrowly losing in a decision. Ramos won the re-match via KO to become the youngest Lightweight Champion in history. Cruz would only live 11 more months. He died in a plane crash on January 1970 alongside the Puerto Rican national women's volleyball team at the Dominicana DC-9 air disaster

Dominicana DC-9 air disaster

The Dominicana de Aviación Santo Domingo DC-9 air disaster occurred on February 15, 1970 when a Dominicana de Aviación McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 twin-engine jet airliner crashed on takeoff from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico.The aircraft used for the Dominicana...

.

Mando was the first fighter to draw hordes of women to the fights. When a Mando Ramos fight was held in Los Angeles, movie stars such as John Wayne

John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...

, Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby

William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...

, Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...

, Liz Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...

 and Connie Stevens

Connie Stevens

Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...

 attended . Women from all walks of life caught Mandomania, and Hollywood loved 'The Wonder Boy'.

Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Jackie McCoy, Ramos fought ten World title fights, was a two-time champion and earned millions of dollars. Whilst Mickey Mantle and Joe Namath earned 100k per season, Ramos was earning 100k per night. He was the world's highest paid teenager and his purses were larger than anyone but Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

's. McCoy stated Mando was the most naturally talented fighter he had ever seen in his life.

Retirement

Tough fights however, had taken their toll, along with the high life. Eventually drugs and alcohol put the brakes on his career. By age 24 Ramos was out of boxing. With the aid of his wife, Sylvia Van Hecke, Ramos overcame his demons and has been clean and sober for over three decades. He founded a non-profit youth organization---B.A.A.D.--boxing against alcohol and drugs—and donated tens of thousands of his own personal hours—to coaching, mentoring and training inner-city at-risk youths.

Mando Ramos died suddenly at his home in San Pedro, California on July 6, 2008.

External links