Boxer has no regrets

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Porfirio 'Blackie' Zamora, now 61, is proud of having won the 1964 Texas lightweight boxing championship, although he doesn't dwell on his past accomplishments and still jogs regularly.

When Porfirio "Blackie" Zamora takes to the track at Ray High School to jog his usual four to six miles, the 61-year-old can't help but recall how in his late teens he could easily run 20 miles a day.
   As Zamora regulates his breathing and settles into a familiar, rhythmic stride, the former boxer's mind inevitably flashes back to who he once was - a young man who entered the ring as an 18-year-old amateur and six years later, having turned pro, captured the Texas lightweight championship in 1964.
   Zamora held that title for four consecutive years, an achievement he remains proud of today. But Zamora doesn't waste any time chasing bygone glory.
   The fight, Zamora points out, didn't end when he retired from boxing in 1978. He is happy with the man he has become and takes pride in the five children he and his wife have raised. As far as he is concerned, the only finish line that counts is the one at the end of his journey.
   "A lot of people are afraid to get old," Zamora said. "One day we're jumping and running, and the next day we're walking and sitting. It's like they say, 'You're a man once, and a baby twice.'
   Growing older
   "But I look back at my life and can say I have no regrets. I was lucky to have done what I did in boxing and I never let my accomplishments change me. I never acted bigger than anyone else. Humble, that's the way I was raised."
   When he takes to the track, most people under 40 haven't a clue who Zamora is as he zips by. But those who flocked ringside whenever his name was on a fight card or whose fathers got them his autograph often approach him with a friendly "How are you?" or "Remember that fight?"
   Inevitably, the rush of memories leads to their reminiscing about a career that at the time catapulted Zamora to the status of hero in the minds of many.
   Hard-hitting
   Among the many boys inspired by Zamora was Rafael Davila Jr., whose father was an assistant trainer for a local gym at the time and attended Zamora's fights. Davila was 12 when he first met Zamora and treasures a photograph of himself as a boy posing with the boxer.
   "After seeing him in a fight or at the gym, kids wanted to emulate him. They wanted to be a hard-hitting boxer like Blackie," said Davila, 53, manager and head boxing coach of the Police Officers Association Gym.
   Top local boxers
   "Back then his name was synonymous with Lefty Barrera. They were the top dogs in Corpus Christi in both amateur and pro classification. Whenever the community heard Zamora was going to box, he was a big draw to the venue. Unlike some of the top boxers of today, he didn't need any flash to make people come out and see him. Just his name alone and his boxing abilities were enough to get the people to turn out."
   Zamora's first foray into the boxing ring came at the advice of a neighborhood barber, who told him that rather than pounding the bullies who made the mistake of taunting him for being short and dark-complexioned, he should use his fists to earn money.
   But at the Pan American Club on the city's west side, where Zamora got his first feel of the ring, he also took his first beatings, courtesy of boxers much more experienced.
   "They whupped the heck out of me, so much that I'd go home with ringing in my ears," Zamora recalled.
   Rather than quit or admit defeat, Zamora trained harder.
   "And eventually I gave as good as I got," he said.
   In 1958, Zamora entered the Golden Gloves tournament and became the city's lightweight novice champion, handily beating his opponents, one of whom was Ramsey Muñiz, who went on to make two unsuccessful bids for governor in the 1970s as a member of La Raza Unida Party.
   Memorable fights
   Six years later, Zamora, in a seventh-round technical knockout, officially stripped Henry Dominguez of his lightweight title.
   Of his 60 or so fights, Zamora vividly remembers two, one he won a year before winning the state title, and the other fought a year after.
   In '63, Zamora pummeled Indio Puente, a well-known fighter from Mexico, taking him down in the first round. Two years later, Benito Juarez stepped into the ring, about the only boxer at the time who dared challenge Zamora.
   Career hopes
   He countered the challenge, surprising Juarez with an uppercut, opening a gash on his forehead, and in a first-round technical knockout walking away as victor.
   Today, it is his son who is putting on the gloves.
   "I don't like the fact that my son is an amateur boxer," said Zamora, who now earns his living working at a local fiberglass company.
   "I'm afraid for him because I know what boxing is. But apparently boxing is in his blood."
   Life lessons
   Zamora also finds comfort in the fact that his son isn't pinning any career hopes on the sport, but rather is working toward a bachelor's degree in education.
   While Zamora admits he has enjoyed a certain amount of satisfaction from the wins he scored in the ring, what he most prizes are the winning lessons he now applies to everyday life.
   "In boxing, you try to get your opponent mad because it's when he's mad that he makes mistakes," he said. "It's the same thing in life. Boxing taught me never to lose your cool because if you do, you can lose everything in a split second.
   "Boxing also gave me great discipline and direction, how to set a goal in life and follow through. This is what I preach to my children and grandchildren."
   Personal goals
   Emilio H. Sanchez Sr., 64, a boxing coach at the Boys and Girls Club for 40 years, witnessed firsthand the multitude of boys who would pack the club after having seen Zamora fight.
   "They all wanted to be what they saw in Blackie," Sanchez said.
   "Every time Blackie fought, he gave his fans their money's worth and more.
   "People still ask me about Blackie Zamora. If Blackie would ever agree to an exhibition show, he would pack them in. His name hasn't been forgotten. The community that was proud of him then still remembers him."
   Zamora never quite fulfilled a personal goal he set for himself as a young man, that of becoming world champion.
   But with the years have come wisdom, Zamora said, and he now realizes that what he did accomplish was exactly what he was meant to do all along.
   "I became champion of Texas, champion of my city, champion of my people," he said. "I'll settle for that."