Sixto Escobar

Sixto Escobar
Escobar in the 1930s
Born	Sixto Escobar Vargas March 23, 1913 Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
Died	November 17, 1979 (aged 66) Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Other names	El Gallito
Statistics
Weight(s)	Bantamweight
Height	5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	66
Wins	39
Wins by KO	17
Losses	23
Draws	4
No contests	0

Sixto Escobar (March 23, 1913 – November 17, 1979) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. Competing in the bantamweight division, he became Puerto Rico's first world champion.^[1]

Escobar was born in Barceloneta and raised in San Juan. There he received his primary education and took interest in boxing. After gathering a record of 21–1–1 as an amateur, Escobar debuted as a professional in 1931 defeating Luis "Kid Dominican" Pérez by knockout. Early in his career, he moved to Venezuela due to the lack of opponents in his division. There he received an opportunity for the Venezuelan Bantamweight championship, but lost by points to Enrique Chaffardet.^[2] Subsequently, he moved to New York and began boxing in other states, eventually capturing the Montreal Athletic Commission World Bantamweight Title. In 1936, he defeated Tony Marino to unify this championship with the one recognized by the International Boxing Union, in the process becoming the third Latin American undisputed world boxing champion. After retiring, he worked as a spokesperson for beer companies in New York, before returning to Puerto Rico in the 1960s, where he resided until his death. He received several posthumous recognitions and his name was used in several sports venues and buildings. In 2002, Escobar was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.