From the Publisher: In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, La Voz will highlight organizations or individuals that have been instrumental in improving the state of Colorado. For the next five weeks, Citywide Banks, a Division of HTLF Bank, is the sponsor of the 5-week series.
HISPANIC HERITAGE SERIES – PART IV
You can’t tell the story of Denver’s boxing history without mentioning Ernest “Red” Martinez.
When Martinez was only 15, he met Rudolfo “Corky” Gonzales at the Epworth Community Center and the two began training together. Fast forward years later, and Martinez stepped into the national spotlight after winning a unanimous 10-round decision against Pappy Gault. That fight caught the eye of Al Weill, a well-known boxing manager and earned Martinez a three-year contract with him. He became a stablemate of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano’s and posted a 32-12-4 professional record, including 17 knockouts.
“He’s a living legend. I have pictures of him with Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Lewis (and others),” said Alfred DeLeon, Martinez’s neighbor and friend who has known him for 40 years. “The only reason Red didn’t get a world title is because all of the champions who fought, Red already beat them.”
After retiring from boxing after a fight with Jesse Mongia in 1955, Martinez served in the U.S. Army. When he came back from serving, Martinez made a return to the ring, this time as a trainer and manager.
His star pupil, Felipe Garcia — known as the “Master of Disaster” in the ring — won three world kickboxing championships while Martinez was his trainer. He also trained other Denver area boxers and would bring Garcia to spar with lighter weight fighters like DeLeon.
“Martinez is the nicest guy you can ever meet. He would give you the shirt off your back if you needed it,” said DeLeon. “We go to the same church together, and everybody that meets him always says he’s very sharp. We just had his birthday party. I said champ, your picture is on that cake, and he said it’s not going to make it any sweeter.”
Martinez just celebrated his 92nd birthday and has lived in north Denver for decades. He worked for the City of Denver as a sign setter in the past and was inducted into the Colorado Golden Gloves Hall of Fame in 2014.
“His favorite sign is don’t turn on red,” joked DeLeon. After attending Cole Junior High School in Denver, Martinez stopped going to school so that he could work to support his family in 1945, during a time when World War II had just ended and while many people were still trying to recover from the Great Depression. Today, Martinez still lives in north Denver and has a son and three daughters.
As La Voz continues to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring Hispanics who have had a profound impact on their communities — like Martinez. His con- tributions to the boxing community in the Denver area cannot be overstated, and his story provides a glimpse into what it was like to be a winning fighter in Denver decades ago.
Asked what his boxing experience and career taught him, “Red” said, “I took care of myself, made lots of friends, and taught other boxers to fight world champions.”
