WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.359 OK, let's unpack this right from the jump. In 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:05.559 the world of professional boxing, you have nicknames 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:08.980 that are, you know, just OK. Right. You have 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:11.699 nicknames that are pure marketing gimmicks. And 00:00:11.699 --> 00:00:14.119 then you have nicknames that serve as a legitimate 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:16.920 warning label for the human being standing across 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:20.100 the ring from you. And today we are talking about 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:24.260 a man whose nickname was Bazooka. Rafael Bazooka 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:27.579 Limon. And honestly, looking at the tapes and 00:00:27.579 --> 00:00:30.350 the records, it wasn't just a cool name. It described 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:34.350 his style, his temper, and the absolute explosiveness 00:00:34.350 --> 00:00:36.670 of his entire career. Exactly. We are looking 00:00:36.670 --> 00:00:39.090 at a two -time world champion, a Mexican boxing 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:41.590 legend, and a guy who was involved in one of 00:00:41.590 --> 00:00:43.829 the most brutal rivalries the sport has ever 00:00:43.829 --> 00:00:46.200 seen. For sure. But here's the thing that really 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:48.039 hooked me when I started digging into the stack 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.079 of notes and biographical records we have here. 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:52.880 His life story reads like a movie script. Oh, 00:00:52.899 --> 00:00:55.719 absolutely. I mean, a script that a studio executive 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:58.320 would reject because it sounds too made up. It 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:00.119 really does. There are twists in his biography 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:02.060 that happen before he even puts on a pair of 00:01:02.060 --> 00:01:04.519 gloves that are harder to believe than the fights 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:09.719 themselves. It's layer after layer of just improbability. 00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:12.549 So our mission today is pretty clear. We're going 00:01:12.549 --> 00:01:15.010 to do a deep dive into the chaotic, resilient, 00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:18.689 and frankly, unbelievable life of Rafael Limon. 00:01:18.730 --> 00:01:20.530 We want to understand how a soldier became a 00:01:20.530 --> 00:01:24.560 boxing icon and how a man. defined by getting 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:26.859 knocked down, just kept getting back up. And 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:29.480 that really is the theme here, resilience. If 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:31.079 you look at the source material, which covers 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:34.680 his career roughly from 1972 to 1994, plus his 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:37.400 early life, you just see this pattern. Whether 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:40.079 it was a traumatic childhood or the squared circle 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:42.519 of the ring, Limon's defining characteristic 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:45.010 wasn't that he was untouchable. It was that he 00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:46.950 was inevitable. He just kept coming back. So 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:49.450 let's rewind all the way back. Before the belts, 00:01:49.549 --> 00:01:52.310 before the lights, we are in Tlaxcala, Mexico. 00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:56.590 January 13, 1954, Rafael Limon comes into the 00:01:56.590 --> 00:01:58.750 world. Yeah, but the file suggests this wasn't 00:01:58.750 --> 00:02:00.950 exactly a happy beginning, was it? No, far from 00:02:00.950 --> 00:02:03.950 it. The context here is just, it's crucial to 00:02:03.950 --> 00:02:05.689 understanding the anger and the toughness he 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:08.680 displayed later. The records show he grew up 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:12.379 in a very volatile domestic situation. He grew 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:14.439 up believing his father was a soldier who lived 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.360 with them. Right. And this father figure, and 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:18.759 I'm using that term very loosely, was not a good 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:22.310 guy. No. Not at all. He was an alcoholic, and 00:02:22.310 --> 00:02:24.090 the reports indicate he was physically abusive 00:02:24.090 --> 00:02:25.990 to Limon's mother. And you have to remember, 00:02:26.189 --> 00:02:28.569 she had four kids to protect. Three sons and 00:02:28.569 --> 00:02:30.650 a daughter. Right, three sons, including Rafael 00:02:30.650 --> 00:02:33.069 and a daughter. It created an environment of 00:02:33.069 --> 00:02:36.229 just constant low -level terror. It got bad enough 00:02:36.229 --> 00:02:38.810 that when Rafael was just four years old, his 00:02:38.810 --> 00:02:41.069 mother had to make a run for it. She packed up 00:02:41.069 --> 00:02:42.969 the family and moved them to Mexico City just 00:02:42.969 --> 00:02:44.949 to get away from the abuse. So you have this 00:02:44.949 --> 00:02:47.669 young kid growing up with trauma, likely witnessing 00:02:47.669 --> 00:02:49.919 violence from a very, very... very early age. 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:52.800 Yeah. And that has to rewire a developing brain. 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:55.400 Oh, absolutely. You learn to be hypervigilant. 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:57.860 You learn that the world is a physical place 00:02:57.860 --> 00:02:59.979 where you have to defend yourself. And usually 00:02:59.979 --> 00:03:02.159 that's where the hard knocks backstory settles 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:06.240 in. But then, then we get to the twist. And I 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.620 have to say, of all the biographies we've covered, 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:12.020 this specific incident is one of the most surreal 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:15.000 aha moments I've ever seen. This is a fascinating 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.219 story. It's almost Dickensian. Fascinating is 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:21.530 one word for it. So picture this. Young Rafael 00:03:21.530 --> 00:03:24.330 Limon is walking down the street in Mexico City. 00:03:24.490 --> 00:03:27.069 He's 15. Okay. He's minding his own business, 00:03:27.150 --> 00:03:29.650 carrying a purse, maybe running an errand for 00:03:29.650 --> 00:03:32.229 his mom. The sources don't specify. But suddenly, 00:03:32.389 --> 00:03:35.590 a guy tries to snatch it. A mugger. A classic 00:03:35.590 --> 00:03:38.849 street crime scenario. Right. Now, most 15 -year 00:03:38.849 --> 00:03:41.469 -olds might freeze or just let it go. Limon, 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:43.810 he reacts instantly. He punches the thief. Wow. 00:03:43.909 --> 00:03:46.439 Bam. Then he takes off running home to safety. 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:48.240 Because it's a fight or flight response, and 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:51.139 he chose fight then flight. Exactly. So he gets 00:03:51.139 --> 00:03:53.360 home, heart pounding, probably telling his mom 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:55.719 what just happened. But then a few minutes later, 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:58.379 there's a knock at the door. Oh, no. The mugger 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:00.180 followed him. He followed him. This is where 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:02.340 you'd expect a confrontation or, you know, a 00:04:02.340 --> 00:04:05.259 police report. Instead, his mother opens the 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:08.639 door, looks at the mugger, looks at Rafael, and 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:11.520 makes an introduction. Wait. She introduces the 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:15.520 purse snatcher. As Raphael's biological father. 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:18.500 You're kidding me. That's how he meets him. That's 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:20.779 how he meets him. The first time he physically 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:23.899 connects with his biological father, it's a punch 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:26.120 to the face during a robbery attempt. I mean, 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:27.720 you can't write that. Nice to meet you, Dad. 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:29.800 Sorry about the left hook. It's unbelievable. 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:32.319 But if we connect this to the bigger picture 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:34.759 of his career, it's actually quite revealing. 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:38.000 It shows that Limon had a fighting instinct long 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:40.199 before he had any training. That's a great point. 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:42.180 He was reacting to a threat with aggression. 00:04:42.750 --> 00:04:46.350 not submission. That punch on the street was 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:48.689 a precursor to the bazooka he'd become in the 00:04:48.689 --> 00:04:51.269 ring. He didn't need to be taught to swing. He 00:04:51.269 --> 00:04:53.910 just needed to be taught how to aim. And speaking 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:55.829 of aggression, let's talk about where he actually 00:04:55.829 --> 00:04:58.089 learned to harness that. He ends up joining the 00:04:58.089 --> 00:05:02.310 Mexican army. February 14, 1972. And that's interesting 00:05:02.310 --> 00:05:04.490 psychologically, right? He ends up joining the 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:06.730 same perfection as that abusive stepfather figure 00:05:06.730 --> 00:05:09.949 he grew up fearing. He enters a world of strict 00:05:09.949 --> 00:05:12.629 discipline. And the way he discovers boxing is 00:05:12.629 --> 00:05:16.209 just as accidental as meeting his dad. He isn't 00:05:16.209 --> 00:05:19.290 looking for glory. He's just a soldier. One day 00:05:19.290 --> 00:05:21.629 he's watching some friends spar. And this is 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:24.529 where that personality quirk comes in. He sees 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:28.110 a friend get bloodied in the ring. Now most people... 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:30.839 especially if they aren't fighters, might wince 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:33.199 or look away. Yeah, you'd feel bad for the guy. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:36.459 Le Mans. He starts laughing. He found it funny. 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:39.480 He did. And there was a major on -duty Major 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:42.360 Ace Eves, according to some accounts, who did 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:44.500 not appreciate the laughter from the sidelines. 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:46.740 It was disrespectful. So he calls him out? Yep. 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:48.879 Basically, you think it's funny, you get in there. 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:52.259 And he does. He steps in, totally untrained, 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:54.920 just running on instinct and, you know, that 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.300 toughness he built up on the streets. And guess 00:05:57.300 --> 00:05:59.959 what? He's good at it. He was a natural. But 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:02.519 it wasn't just that he was tough. The Army realized 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:04.920 they had a specific type of weapon on their hands 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:07.160 because of his stance. He was a southpaw. He 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:08.920 was a southpaw. Okay, let's pause on that for 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.540 a second because we hear southpaw a lot in boxing, 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:14.279 like in Rocky. But for the listener who maybe 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:17.300 doesn't watch fights every weekend, why is being 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:20.860 a southpaw such a big deal? It's a huge disruption 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:23.660 to the geometry of a fight. I mean, most people 00:06:23.660 --> 00:06:26.459 are right -handed. or orthodox, they stand with 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:28.339 their left foot forward and jab with their left 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:30.800 hand. So it's a mirror image of that. Exactly. 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:33.560 A southpaw stands with the right foot forward 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:35.939 and jabs with the right. And because the vast 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:38.259 majority of fighters are orthodox, they spend 00:06:38.259 --> 00:06:40.180 their whole lives training for punches coming 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:42.240 from certain angles. Right. When you fight a 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.110 southpaw, suddenly the power hand The bazooka, 00:06:45.110 --> 00:06:47.290 in this case, is the left hand, and it's coming 00:06:47.290 --> 00:06:49.050 from an angle you just aren't trained to see. 00:06:49.129 --> 00:06:50.790 It makes everything awkward. The feet get tangled. 00:06:50.930 --> 00:06:53.089 The heads clash more often. It's a nightmare. 00:06:53.350 --> 00:06:56.790 So he had this raw power and this naturally confusing 00:06:56.790 --> 00:06:59.910 stance. Right. He trained with the Army for about 00:06:59.910 --> 00:07:02.310 three months, but they realized he needed polish. 00:07:02.750 --> 00:07:07.089 They sent him to a real pro. Alfredo Kid Rapidez 00:07:07.089 --> 00:07:10.790 Cruz. Kid Rapidez. I love these names. A former 00:07:10.790 --> 00:07:14.050 pro boxer and a noted trainer. This was the transition 00:07:14.050 --> 00:07:17.410 from a brawler who laughed at blood to a refined, 00:07:17.670 --> 00:07:20.850 well, somewhat refined prizefighter. I love that 00:07:20.850 --> 00:07:23.269 you say somewhat because Bazooka wasn't exactly 00:07:23.269 --> 00:07:25.430 known for being a technician, was he? He wasn't 00:07:25.430 --> 00:07:27.389 out there dancing. Not in the classical sense. 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:30.569 No, he was a pressure fighter. A swarmer. He 00:07:30.569 --> 00:07:33.750 was awkward. He was tough. And he was just relentless. 00:07:33.930 --> 00:07:36.410 He would eat two punches to land one of his own. 00:07:36.490 --> 00:07:39.389 Because he knew his one punch hurt more. Exactly. 00:07:39.449 --> 00:07:42.970 So he turns pro. He starts racking up wins. But 00:07:42.970 --> 00:07:45.649 you can't talk about Rafael Amon without talking 00:07:45.649 --> 00:07:48.009 about the other half of his soul in a weird way. 00:07:48.209 --> 00:07:50.790 You have to talk about Bobby Chacon. The rivalry. 00:07:50.949 --> 00:07:53.449 This is the defining rivalry. I mean, in boxing 00:07:53.449 --> 00:07:56.009 history, you have Ali versus Frazier, Gatti versus 00:07:56.009 --> 00:07:58.490 Ward, and you have Limon versus Chacon. It was 00:07:58.490 --> 00:08:00.850 a four -fight saga that spanned seven years. 00:08:01.009 --> 00:08:03.110 And it had everything. It wasn't just four fights. 00:08:03.149 --> 00:08:04.990 It was a narrative arc. Let's walk through this 00:08:04.990 --> 00:08:06.949 because the progression is wild. It starts in 00:08:06.949 --> 00:08:10.850 1975, December 7th in Mexicali. At this point, 00:08:10.970 --> 00:08:13.949 Bobby Chacon is a star. He's a schoolboy. He's 00:08:13.949 --> 00:08:16.879 heavily favored. Limón is the underdog fighting 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.819 on home soil in Mexico, and he shocks the world. 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:23.839 He beats the favorite via a 10 -round unanimous 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.180 decision. That put him on the map. It proved 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:28.160 he wasn't just some tough guy from the army. 00:08:28.300 --> 00:08:31.259 He was world class. But the story doesn't end 00:08:31.259 --> 00:08:35.679 there. They meet again in 1979, and this one, 00:08:35.779 --> 00:08:39.220 well, this one gets messy. The record says, technical 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:43.029 draw. What happened there? A technical draw usually 00:08:43.029 --> 00:08:45.409 happens when an accidental foul stops a fight 00:08:45.409 --> 00:08:48.129 early. In this case, it was a clash of heads 00:08:48.129 --> 00:08:49.889 in the seventh round. Which goes back to what 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:52.330 you were saying, southpaw versus orthodox. Exactly. 00:08:52.549 --> 00:08:54.429 Their heads are on the same line. LeMond got 00:08:54.429 --> 00:08:56.389 cut. The fight was stopped. And because it wasn't 00:08:56.389 --> 00:08:58.590 a completed bout, it's a draw. So you have one 00:08:58.590 --> 00:09:00.769 win for LeMond and one non -result. It leaves 00:09:00.769 --> 00:09:03.029 things totally unsettled. The tension is just 00:09:03.029 --> 00:09:05.009 building. So they have to do it a third time, 00:09:05.129 --> 00:09:08.389 March 21st, 1980. This time, they're in Los Angeles 00:09:08.389 --> 00:09:10.470 Chican's backyard, basically. And looking at 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:13.519 the notes. The tide turns here. It does. It's 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:16.019 another war, as always. But Chacon squeezes out 00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:18.720 a split decision victory over 10 rounds. So now, 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:21.899 if you're keeping score, Limon has a win, a draw, 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:25.019 and a loss against this guy. It's perfectly balanced. 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:27.860 Which creates this incredible demand for a resolution. 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:31.240 But what's fascinating is that while this personal 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:34.320 war with Chacon is happening, Limon is also... 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:36.500 riding this roller coaster for the world title. 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:39.179 Oh, absolutely. He's fighting the absolute killers 00:09:39.179 --> 00:09:41.200 of the division. We have to mention the heartbreak 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:45.059 before the glory. February 1979, he gets a shot 00:09:45.059 --> 00:09:47.399 at the WBC super featherweight title against 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.500 Alexis Arguello. And for those listening who 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:52.580 might not know, Alexis Arguello, El Flaco Explosivo, 00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:55.200 was an absolute legend, one of the greatest punchers, 00:09:55.220 --> 00:09:57.460 period. And it went about as tough as you'd expect. 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:00.759 LeMond gets stopped, 11th round knockout. That's 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.049 a crushing defeat. For many fighters, getting 00:10:03.049 --> 00:10:05.269 knocked out in the 11th round by a legend like 00:10:05.269 --> 00:10:07.350 that is the peak of their career. It's the almost 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:09.309 made it moment. But this goes back to our theme, 00:10:09.509 --> 00:10:12.190 resilience. Exactly. Limon didn't fold. No, he 00:10:12.190 --> 00:10:15.429 didn't. In 1980, Arguello vacates the title. 00:10:15.509 --> 00:10:18.090 It's up for grabs. And who steps up? Bazooka, 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:21.649 Limon. He fights Adolfo Bethelmi from Venezuela. 00:10:21.990 --> 00:10:25.389 And this time, the outcome is different. We're 00:10:25.389 --> 00:10:28.179 in the 15th round. The deep waters. And you have 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:30.620 to remember, back then, championship fights were 00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:33.639 15 rounds, not 12. That extra nine minutes is 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:36.360 pure torture. It really is. And LeMond finds 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:39.320 the energy. He knocks him out in the 15th. He 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:41.899 becomes the WBC super featherweight champion. 00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:45.399 He reached the mountaintop. But. And there's 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:47.860 always a but with LeMond. Yeah. He couldn't stay 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:51.179 there long. No. His very first defense. He fights 00:10:51.179 --> 00:10:54.200 Cornelius Boza Edwards, a very tough Uganda -born 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:56.539 fighter based in England. Yeah. Limon loses a 00:10:56.539 --> 00:10:58.860 15 -round decision. It's the one -hit wonder 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:00.539 syndrome. Critics start saying, you know, he 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.559 got lucky. But Limon refused to accept that label. 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:06.899 He climbs back up. In 1982, the title had changed 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:09.320 hands to Rolando Navarrete. And Limon challenges 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.220 him. And boom, 12th round knockout. Zuka does 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:14.039 it again. He becomes a two -time world champion. 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.120 Which sets the stage perfectly. He's the champion 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:18.940 again. The rivalry with Chacon is unsettled. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:22.340 It's 1982. The world is ready for Limon versus 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:26.320 Chacon IV. This is the climax of the movie. December 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:31.120 11th, 1982. Sacramento. And for the first time 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:33.179 in their four fights, the world championship 00:11:33.179 --> 00:11:35.720 is on the line. The stakes could not be higher. 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:37.980 Ring Magazine eventually named this the fight 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:41.179 of the year. And for good reason. It was a seesaw 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:43.019 battle. I was reading the reports on this and 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:46.159 it sounds exhausting just to read. Limone drops 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:48.679 Chacon in round three. Right. Then he drops him 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:51.500 again in round 10. So late in the fight, Limone 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:53.399 is ahead. He has knocked the challenger down 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:55.840 twice. He is retaining his title. He is winning 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.320 the rivalry. Everything is going his way. But 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.000 then comes the 15th round, the final round. The 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:02.960 final round of the final fight of their rivalry. 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:05.259 They are both battered, eyes swollen, barely 00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:07.379 standing. Seconds left on the clock. Literally 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:10.340 seconds. And Chacon lands a bomb. Limon goes 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:12.480 down. And here's the image that sticks with me. 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:15.440 Limon is hurt. He's exhausted. He's been fighting 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:17.379 this man, what, seven years on and off. He's 00:12:17.379 --> 00:12:19.320 on the canvas. And he's got to get up. But he 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:22.179 doesn't just get up. He climbs the ropes. He 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.440 physically grabs the rope to pull himself up 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:26.399 to his feet because his legs barely work. He 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.259 wants to finish on his feet. He does finish on 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:30.799 his feet. The bell rings. But that knockdown, 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:33.820 that knockdown swung the judges. It did. It was 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:36.120 a close, unanimous decision. But it went to Chacon. 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:40.080 Limon lost his title and the final match of the 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:42.259 rivalry in the last 10 seconds of the 15th round. 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:44.899 That is absolutely devastating to be that close. 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:47.759 It's the tragedy of sport. Yeah. But it's also 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:51.460 what makes this specific rivalry legendary. It 00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:53.559 wasn't a blowout. It was fought inch by inch 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:56.100 until the very last second. So where do you go 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:57.480 from there? You've lost the belt. You've lost 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:00.440 the rivalry. Most guys would retire or take an 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.320 easy fight. Not Limon. He kept fighting. And 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:05.840 actually, the very next major move he made tells 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:07.779 you everything about his character. This is the 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:11.679 Camacho story, right? Yes. So 1983, Bobby Chacon 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:14.159 is the champion now. Yeah. But he refuses to 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.960 defend the title against the rising star Hector 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:20.039 Macho Camacho. Camacho was fast, flashy, brash. 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:22.179 Nobody wanted to fight him. Right. Chacon essentially 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:24.740 ducks him. So the title becomes vacant again. 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:28.039 And who steps in? Who agrees to travel to Puerto 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:30.820 Rico into the lion's den to fight the guy the 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:33.940 champion is afraid of? Rafael Limon. Of course. 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:36.710 He took the fight. And look, the source material 00:13:36.710 --> 00:13:39.289 is blunt here. He was no match for Camacho. Camacho 00:13:39.289 --> 00:13:41.830 was too fast. LeMond lost in five rounds. But 00:13:41.830 --> 00:13:44.049 the fact that he took it... It proves he feared 00:13:44.049 --> 00:13:47.090 no one. He would fight anyone, anywhere. Even 00:13:47.090 --> 00:13:49.450 when he was past his absolute peak, he wasn't 00:13:49.450 --> 00:13:51.409 looking for easy paydays. He was looking for 00:13:51.409 --> 00:13:53.789 fights. He really was a soldier until the end. 00:13:53.909 --> 00:13:56.669 And that end took a long time coming. He kept 00:13:56.669 --> 00:14:00.110 boxing all the way until 1994. That is a long 00:14:00.110 --> 00:14:02.519 twilight for a career. He fades some serious 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:04.700 names on the way down, too. Future legends like 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:07.059 Julio Cesar Chavez and Sharma Mitchell. Yeah, 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:09.220 losing efforts, but he was sharing the ring with 00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:12.139 the next generation's greats. He became the gatekeeper, 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:14.480 the test you had to pass to prove you were real. 00:14:14.659 --> 00:14:17.320 He eventually retired with a record of 53 wins, 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:21.659 23 losses, and two draws. 38 knockouts. 78 fights. 00:14:21.940 --> 00:14:24.690 That is a lot of mileage on the human body. It 00:14:24.690 --> 00:14:27.169 is. And when you look at those numbers, 53 wins 00:14:27.169 --> 00:14:30.309 is impressive, but 23 losses. In modern boxing, 00:14:30.409 --> 00:14:32.710 where everyone is obsessed with being undefeated, 00:14:32.870 --> 00:14:35.549 that looks high. It does look a bit messy on 00:14:35.549 --> 00:14:38.350 paper. But that's why context matters. He wasn't 00:14:38.350 --> 00:14:41.009 protecting a shiny zero on his record. He was 00:14:41.009 --> 00:14:43.289 a prizefighter in the truest sense. He fought. 00:14:43.629 --> 00:14:46.169 If he lost, he fought again. He didn't curate 00:14:46.169 --> 00:14:49.169 his career. He lived it. So when we look back 00:14:49.169 --> 00:14:51.929 at the life of Bazooka Limon, what are we really 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:54.899 seeing? We see a kid from Tlaxcala who escaped 00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:57.820 abuse. We see a teenager who punched his own 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:01.039 father by accident. We see a soldier who laughed 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:03.799 at blood. And we see a champion who lost his 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:05.480 title in the most heartbreaking way possible 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:08.200 but never stopped swinging. I think we see the 00:15:08.200 --> 00:15:10.620 definition of a fighter. Not just an athlete, 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:12.840 but a fighter. Someone who understood that getting 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:14.799 hit is part of the job description, not a reason 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:17.159 to quit. His resilience wasn't just physical, 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:19.899 it was mental. He accepted the chaos of his life 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:22.590 and threw punches at it. It's a wild ride. And 00:15:22.590 --> 00:15:24.929 honestly, it makes me appreciate the sport so 00:15:24.929 --> 00:15:28.029 much more when you know the human stories behind 00:15:28.029 --> 00:15:31.029 those bruised faces. It's not just two guys hitting 00:15:31.029 --> 00:15:33.330 each other. It's two histories colliding. Absolutely. 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:36.029 It adds a layer of depth you just can't get from 00:15:36.029 --> 00:15:38.370 reading a box score on Wikipedia. Before we wrap 00:15:38.370 --> 00:15:40.830 this up, I know you always like to leave us with 00:15:40.830 --> 00:15:43.429 something to chew on. What's the big takeaway 00:15:43.429 --> 00:15:46.330 here? Well, thinking about Limon and Chacon. 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:48.940 It raises a provocative question about greatness. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:52.320 We tend to judge athletes by their individual 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:56.279 stats. But in a career of 78 fights, Limon is 00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:58.679 defined almost entirely by the four fights he 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:01.340 had with Chacon. That's true. It makes me wonder, 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.259 can a fighter truly be great without a great 00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:07.639 rival? Does the enemy make the hero? I think 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:09.500 in Limon's case, without Chacon, we might not 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:12.179 remember him as vividly as we do. He needed that 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:14.539 struggle to define his resilience. That is a 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:17.049 great point. Maybe we all need a nemesis to push 00:16:17.049 --> 00:16:19.090 us to that next level. Hopefully not one that 00:16:19.090 --> 00:16:21.730 involves 15 rounds of punching, though. I'd prefer 00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:24.509 a deadline or a difficult crossword puzzle, personally. 00:16:24.809 --> 00:16:27.370 Same here. I'll stick to the heavy bag at the 00:16:27.370 --> 00:16:31.870 gym. Well, that's all we have for this deep dive 00:16:31.870 --> 00:16:34.529 into the life of Rafael Bazooka -Lamon. Thanks 00:16:34.529 --> 00:16:36.909 for listening and keep exploring. Stay curious.