Bolanos came to the U.S. from Mexico at 17 and engaged in three world lightweight title bouts at Wrigley Field against Ike Williams between 1946 and 1949.
Enrique Bolanos, a Mexican boxer who three times fought for and lost the world lightweight title in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, died Monday. He was 87.
Bolanos died of heart failure at a convalescent facility near his Pasadena home, said his wife of 64 years, Ruby.
The boxer's soft-spoken demeanor and ring skill made him the most popular Mexican fighter in Southern California during the height of his career, which closed in 1952 with a 79-22-5 record and 44 knockouts.
"Good looking guy, charming, very crowd-friendly style," longtime boxing publicist Bill Caplan said. "They loved him to pieces."
Bolanos, born Aug. 24, 1924, in Mexico, came to the United States at 17 and engaged in three world lightweight title bouts at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles against ferocious Ike Williams between 1946 and 1949.
Bolanos lost the first bout by eighth-round technical knockout, the second in a thrilling split decision in 1948, and the third by fourth-round TKO, again at Wrigley, with 18,999 watching.
Bolanos was otherwise unbeaten with just one draw in 31 other bouts during that three-year stretch in the late '40s.
"Enrique's dream — his whole purpose in life – was to be champion of the world," Ruby Bolanos said. "He was groomed for it. When it didn't happen after the third fight, he lost his spirit. It was very sad. And his heart truly wasn't in it again."
Read more on Enrique Bolanos legacy in the squared circle at Los Angeles Times/Obituaries
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