Esteban Gallard (January 1, 1901 – October 7, 1929) was a
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
*Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
* Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
who found international fame under the nickname Kid Charol. While Charol never won a world boxing title, he did obtain popularity, especially in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
where he lived for the last years of his life after moving there from his Cuban hometown of Sagua la Grande. He had a relatively short boxing career before dying at age 28, holding only 67 bouts in an era when many boxers logged more than 100 career fights.
Professional career
Charol began his professional boxing career May 20, 1922, when he outpointed Fabio Lameida over eight rounds in Sagua, Cuba. For his third bout, November 1 of the same year, he faced a boxer named Kid Shadow. In his first professional bout abroad, Kid Charol knocked Kid Shadow out, apparently in the first round, at
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. However, while most records point at this to be a first-round knockout, it remains unclear whether this knockout victory was actually achieved in the first round.
His next bout is said to have taken place on December 1, also in Panama. According to records, he beat
Kid Brown
Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to:
Common meanings
* Colloquial term for a child or other young person
** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age
* Engage in joking
* Young goat
* The goat meat of young goats
* Kidskin, leath ...
in the first round that day, but, once again, the round in which the fight was over, and, in this case also, the actual date of the Charol-Brown bout, remain unclear. Kid Charol fought during an era when boxing records and the such were not always updated.
On January 1, 1923, Charol was held winless for the first time in his career, Enrique Ponce De Leon managing to fight to a ten-round draw (tie) with Charol.
Three more victories followed, and then, on August 25, he faced " Cuco Morales". Morales apparently insisted on fouling Kid Charol by hitting him low, and was disqualified in the second round.
Charol won three and drew one of his next four bouts, and then, on February 16, 1924, he was defeated for the first time, losing to Jimmy Finley by a fifteen-round decision in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Rafael Fello Rodriguez in the fifth round of a rematch. Their first bout had ended in a fifteen-round draw.
Next, on April 1, he apparently fought a Homer Robertson. Whether this fight actually happened or not is also a mystery; some records show that Charol beat Robertson by a fifth-round knockout; other Kid Charol records do not list this fight as happening at all.
Kid Charol won four more fights, then headed to
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
permanently. His first fight there, against Victor Alba, also has a mystery element, because, although it is believed that it took place on January 1, 1925, the date of the bout is not exactly known. Charol did defeat Alba by a first-round knockout in
Lima, Peru
Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
.
On March 1, Kid Charol supposedly knocked out Alex Rely, also in Lima, in another fight whose exact date is not known.
After those two bouts, Charol moved on to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, fighting in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
three times. Once again, his first bout there, against Victor Contreras, happened without an exact date given on records, but it is generally believed that Charol outpointed Contreras over ten rounds in June 1925.
Charol returned to Cuba for one bout, defeating Abdel El Kebir by a fourth-round knockout on January 30, 1926. The very next day, he may have fought
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
's Peter Sung, winning by a ninth-round knockout. No proof exists that the fight with Sung ever happened, but a Jamaican newspaper published a story about it.
Charol won his next four fights, before moving to
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. On November 13, 1926, he made his Argentine debut by knocking Alejandro Trias out in five rounds at
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
.
On December 10, Charo dropped Luis Gaitieri ten times before stopping Gaitieri in the seventh round. Next came two fight trilogies that were sandwiched: Charol lost and drew with
Michele Bonaglia
Michele () is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael.
Michele (usually pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and iden ...
before fighting three consecutive bouts with Eduardo Brissett. Having beaten Brissett once and drawn with him twice, Charol then faced Bonaglia for the third time, losing a twelve-round decision.
By then, Charol was starting to develop
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. It was during this time that his popularity among Argentine boxing fans rose even more, because, despite the fact that the public was aware of his illness, he fought on, winning three more bouts.
Charol's condition worsened, and by 1929, he started to spend a lot of time in a
hospital
A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
. He managed, however, to keep
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...
, and secured a fight with future
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...
member
Dave Shade
Dave Shade (March 3, 1902 – June 23, 1983) was an American boxer who was active from 1918 to the 1935 and amassed a total of nearly 250 bouts fought during the course of his career.
, who traveled to Argentina for the bout. Charol was hospitalized when he was asked if he wanted to fight with Chade. He was in critical condition when Chade arrived in Argentina. Despite these facts, Charol discharged himself from the hospital days before the bout, and he held Chade to a twelve-round draw, in a fight held on April 30 of that year.
This would turn out to be Charol's last fight, as his condition kept on worsening until he died five and a half months later, on October 7, in Buenos Aires.
Kid Charol had a record of 53 wins, 3 losses and 10 draws, with 34 wins by
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...
.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of Cubans
This is a list of notable Cubans, ordered alphabetically by first name within each category.
Additional lists
For Cuban-Americans please see List of Cuban Americans
Art and entertainment
Actors
* Ana de Armas, actress
* Ana Margarita Mart ...