BOXEO JUAN DOMINGO MARTILLO ROLDAN VS FRANK FLETCHER 10-11-1983

Juan Domingo Roldán (March 6, 1957) is a former Argentine boxer known by his nickname "Martillo" (Hammer). The nickname was given to him by Gregorio Martínez, a journalist from San Francisco, Argentina, due to the extraordinary power of his punches, especially his right. He was born in Freyre, Córdoba Province, the son of a dairy farmer. Like his brother Víctor (who also became a boxer, earning the nickname "Tenaza" - Pliers), he developed a great fascination with boxing from listening to the fights of Nicolino Locche and Ringo Bonavena on the radio. The owner of the farm where his father worked set up a kind of underground gym with sandbags, where the two Roldán brothers trained and staged fights. From the beginning, he displayed great courage and a powerful punch, to the point of accepting (at age 16) a challenge to fight a 270 kg circus bear that was passing through his hometown. The challenge consisted of withstanding two rounds against the animal without being knocked down. From then on, the myth circulated in the area that "Hammer" Roldán had knocked out the bear, and this story even accompanied him during his appearances in the United States. The real story, as Roldán himself recounted years later, had nothing to do with his strength but with his strategy: Roldán had waited for the moment when the bear opened its front paws to embrace him, and at that moment, he firmly grabbed its testicles, squeezing them every time the animal tried to pass its paws under his arms. In this way, the bear eventually became tame and never knocked him down. He began to dedicate himself to boxing systematically in 1971. It was then that he and his brother attended a boxing festival in the nearby town of Coronel Fraga, Santa Fe Province. They were given the opportunity to box against each other, and despite not being trained, the judges declared a draw. Trainer Gregorio Yost then invited him to train at his gym. He made his amateur debut in 1973 against Roberto Mainero in Ramona, Santa Fe Province. From then on, he had more than 100 amateur fights. From the age of 17, and for four more years, he lived in the city of Santa Fe, trained by Amilcar Oreste Brusa's team. He went on to become Argentine Champion, won a Silver Medal at the South American Championship in Venezuela in 1977, and earned Golden Gloves in the United States. After his retirement, he was recognized with a Konex Award for his sporting career. SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA We try to share material that aired on Mar del Plata television. The original material is available; please contact us at [email protected] Facebook: History of Mar del Plata Television Instagram: historiatvmdp Twitter: History of Television MDP YouTube: History of Mar del Plata Television Thank you for subscribing, sharing, commenting, or liking. Let's all work together to keep the memory alive and help this community grow a little more each day. HTVMDP