This should not go unmentioned. I saw where former bantamweight champ Enrique Pinder of Panama passed away about 2 weeks ago. For a brief time back in the early '70s, Pinder appeared to be the guy who solved the Mexican bantamweight equation with wins over Rafael Herrera and Chucho Castillo. However, in his first title defense - which looked routine as he had won the first 2 rounds and had Romeo Anaya bleeding from the nose and mouth - he was caught in the 3rd and that was that. The rematch had a similar result in the same round but placed a black mark on Mexican fight fans there forward. With Pinder counted out, the Mexican fans stormed the ring to congratulate Anaya and couldn't care less of the fact that they were actually standing on top of the still-prone Pinder in the ring. For shame. The first fight with Anaya was the cause of the splintering of the bantamweight title, which is still in play today. I read somewhere some writer stated it was because of the Chucho Castillo fight that the WBC stripped Pinder of the title, but it was not. Believe me. The Castillo fight was non-title and had no bearing on anything. It was due to Pinder ignoring the WBC mandate that he defend against their #1 contender Rodolfo Martinez. Pinder chose the much less-rated Anaya, which caused the split, with the WBC arranging Martinez-Rafael Herrera for their vacant title. Pinder was long-armed and his sharp, boxing style made him a handful in his prime. I understand he had heart issues the last few years. He was 76. RIP.
Pinder was an excellent fighter, fought brilliantly in beating Rafael Herrera who had just knocked out Ruben Olivares (who would go up to featherweight and win the featherweight title twice and nearly beat Alexis Argüello). Romeo Anaya was Pinder´s bogeyman. Anaya was a fearsome but fragile puncher who didn´t have Pinder´s skills but just walked thru the Panamanian and could miss with his left hook bombs. RIP Campeón.
RIP Champ. I really wish there was more footage of this overlooked fighter, especially his fights with Chucho Castillo and Rafael Herrera.
Flo, when I was a kid, 'Boxing from the Forum' televised all 4 fights (individually on consecutive weeks) from the Pinder-Castillo card. I saw the Olivares-Herrera rematch, Martinez v Beaver Kajimoto and Famosito Gomez against Ely Axinto. But for some reason, I missed the Pinder-Castillo fight, but my Dad did see it. I remember calling him to ask how it panned out and he described it and said the decision was sound. Now I know the Olivares-Herrera rematch is still out there on youtube, so why not the whole card?
I know the Rodolfo Martinez-Beaver Kajimoto exists so fingers crossed Pinder-Castillo will show up one day.
