Arturo Godoy (October 10, 1912 – 1986) was a Chilean

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

, also nicknamed "Arturito".

Biography

He was born in

Iquique Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...

on October 10, 1912. He was South American Heavyweight Champion and had an extensive and successful career in Argentina, Cuba, Spain, and the United States roughly between 1931 and 1954. In New York, he beat

Tony Galento Dominick Anthony Galento (March 12, 1910 – July 22, 1979) was an American heavyweight boxing, boxer. He is best remembered for scoring a third-round knockdown against Joe Louis in a world title stoppage loss in June 1939. Active from the la ...

. He is best known for his two epic fights with

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

for the World Heavyweight Championship in 1940. The first was held at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

on February 9, 1940, and went the full length of 15 rounds. The 2 ringside judges split their votes and the tie was broken by the referee, who gave it to Louis, to the protest of a substantial part of the audience, who had been won over by the fact that Godoy showed no fear of Louis and by the additional fact that Louis was not able to knock out his opponent after a string of K.O.s and T.K.O.s. South Americans and Chileans in particular thought that Godoy had indeed won the fight and from then on the figure of Godoy acquired mythical proportions. A second fight was scheduled for June 20, 1940. Joe Louis prepared to counteract Godoy's strategy and ring tactics, focusing on bringing him up from his unusual low stance with a combination of hooks to the body and uppercuts. Godoy fought bravely but the referee had to stop the fight in the 8th round. Godoy continued fighting until 1954 and returned to Chile, where he was regarded as a hero. He died in Chile in 1986.

Legacy

His life was used as the base for the novel "Muriendo por la dulce patria mía"
Laurel Editores
2017) by Roberto Castillo Sandoval.

Professional boxing record

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godoy, Arturo 1912 births 1986 deaths Heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Iquique Chilean male boxers 20th-century Chilean sportsmen