Poems of the Ring

By Ezequiel Kratsman

What would you do if you read poems dedicated to boxers you watched fighting or you idolized at some point of your life? Would you start remembering about their fights and skills in their prime? In this edition, the author shows his boxing knowledge in this extensive collection of poems dedicated to boxers from different countries, weight divisions, and eras. The book is based on his research, analysis, and rigorous studies of the fighting style of every mentioned boxer that left a legacy in the sport.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ezequiel David Publishing
• Release date: Feb 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781954314078

Ezequiel Kratsman

Ezequiel Kratsman nació en Buenos Argentina, pero se mudó con su familia a Puerto Rico a muy temprana edad. En 2020, se mudó a Carolina del Sur, Estados Unidos. Cuando se mudó a Estados Unidos, decidió fundar su compañía auto-publicadora Ezequiel David Publishing y publicar sus siguientes libros a través de ella. Empezó a escribir a los 20 años como una forma de terapia para canalizar sus sentimientos y pensamientos por las experiencias que ha pasado. Con el pasar del tiempo, la escritura se convirtió en su pasión. Ezequiel Kratsman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but moved to Puerto Rico with his family at a very young age. In 2020, he moved to South Carolina, USA. When to moved to the United States he decide to found his self-publishing company Ezequiel David Publishing and publish his next books through it. He started writing at the age of 20 as a form of therapy to canalize his thoughts and feelings due to experiences he went throught. As time went by, writing became his passion.

Book preview

To all those who know me, love me, and believe in me.

Prologue

The first time I read a poem dedicated to an athlete was when I was 13 years old. I was reading a book about a basketball player that I have. I don’t remember in which chapter the poem was, but it was there. In that moment, I wondered if it was possible dedicating a poem to a famous athlete, even though it didn’t rhyme. It was there when I realized it could be done. All you have to do is being creative with the details and you wrote it.

There is here’s been hundreds of boxers that had been admired over the years despite how their lives were outside the ring. The fans remember how they used to watch them fight on their televisions or when they went to the coliseums or stadiums to watch them fight. Throughout the years, people keep or kept following boxing and talked about boxers they had seen. They talk about how good they were and what they achieved and in some cases, what else they could have achieved if their careers lasted longer, plus if there were factors that favored them.

They think about how sensational those experiences were. But almost nobody wrote poems dedicated to them at least. In fact, nobody possibly thought about writing one dedicated to a great. And if it happened, barely someone wrote it to someone, but in another language. Because dedicating a poem to a boxer is something not seen.

Have there ever been a collection of poems dedicated only to boxers who made history in that sport? No. It never happened in the long history of literature and in the long history of the sport as well. Many may be wondering: Who would think about writing a collection of poems dedicated only to boxers? Who? The answer is: No one thinks about it.

In my life, I watched hundreds and hundreds of boxers’ fight. I didn’t admire some, but I liked their fighting style. I liked every style because every style in the ring entertains the crowd? Why I wrote a collection of poems dedicated to boxers? Let’s say it’s a challenge I set myself as an author. It’s a challenge many maybe can accept and try, but I was willing to try it. Many think doing something like I did in these poems is impossible. If they think this, I can leave you a message: Nothing is impossible in this life. And when I say nothing’s impossible, is NOTHING is impossible as long as someone sets his mind to it.

For every boxer I watched, I had a memory about what or how he was. A memory worth describing, depending if someone’s interested in hearing. Of course, I appreciate what showed in a ring. That’s what I did in every poem I wrote.

In this collection of poems, which gigantic, I wrote poems dedicated to boxers of all weight divisions, from minimumweights to heavyweights. Everyone had qualities in the ring that made them unique. It can be said every poem’s an ode. An ode that represents or expresses what that boxer was when he fought. I hope you like it. If some of the mentioned boxers or their relatives, known by their nicknames or how they were known, reads some of the poems and wants to meet me, it’ll be an honor. If they or some of their relatives, if they died, want to tell me their anecdotes, I’ll be all ears.

Index

1. El Inca      15

2. The Manassa Mauler    16

3. The Korean Hawk     17

4. The Explosive Thin Man    18

5. The Hawk      19

6. Hands of Stone     20

7. Pacman      21

8. The Brown Bomber     22

9. The Durable Dane     23

10. The Canastota Onion Farmer   24

11. Finito      25

12. Dinamita      26

13. The Radar      27

14. Chava      28

15. Falucho      29

16. El Leopardo de Morón    30

17. Iron Mike      31

18. The Golden Boy     32

19. Little Red      33

20. The Cuban Hawk     34

21. Sugar Ray (The Original)    35

22. Tito      36

23. Maravilla      37

24. Bazooka      38

25. The Phantom of Philly    39

26. Shotgun (Escopeta)    40

27. Iron Boy      41

28. The Galveston Giant    42

29. La Locomotora     43

30. The Fierce Eagle (Kanmuriwashi)  44

31. The Brockton Blockbuster   45

32. The left-handed (El Zurdo)   46

33. The left-handed (The 1950s)   47

34. The Bronx Bull     48

35. El Púas      49

36. J.C.      50

37. The Old Mongoose    51

38. Mantequilla     53

39. The Boilermaker     54

40. The Untouchable     55

41. El León Mendocino    56

42. El Alacrán (The Scorpion from Panama)  57

43. The Bull (El Toro)    58

44. The Greatest     59

45. Roquiño      61

46. The Wild Bull of the Pampas   62

47. El Látigo (The Whip)    63

48. The Thai Tyson     64

49. El Terrible      65

50. Tata      66

51. Ironfist      67

52. Dr. Steehammer     68

53. The Black Destroyer    69

54. The Real Deal     70

55. The Hurricane (El Huracán)   71

56. Mandrake      72

57. Ringo      73

58. Goyo      74

59. Hurricane      75

60. TNT      76

61. Hammer (Martillo)    77

62. Cañas      78

63. Pipino      79

64. Palma      80

65. Hurricane Hank     81

66. Big Daddy      82

67. The Lion        83

68. The Cinderella Man      84

69. Cyclone        85

70. The Executioner       86

71. Macho        87

72. The Dark Destroyer      88

73. The Tyson of Abasto      89

74. Lita        90

75. Uby        91

76. Corro        92

77. The Little Bull of Mataderos     93

78. Thunder        94

79. Chiquita        95

80. Zamora        96

81. Prince        97

82. El Maestro (The Teacher)      98

83. The Little Hands of Stone      99

84. El Feo      100

85. The Mouse     101

86. El Maromero     102

87. Thunder from Under    103

88. The Great Román     104

89. The Golden Rooster    105

90. Chapo      106

91. The Baby-Face Assassin    107

92. Bujía      108

93. Kid Pambelé     109

94. Paret      110

95. Chegui      111

96. Rocky (from Colombia)    112

97. The Pride of Wales    113

98. Sonagi      114

99. The Hawk (The middleweight division)  115

100. The Duke      116

101. Wii      117

102. Sweet Pea     118

103. Marvelous     119

104. Sugar Ray (The Modern)   120

105. Will o’ the Wisp     121

106. Boom Boom (From United Kingdom)  122

107. The Phantom     123

108. Smokin’ Joe     124

109. The Orchid Man     125

110. Big George     126

111. The Motor City Cobra/ The Hitman  127

112. Salazar      128

113. The Easton Assassin    129

114. The Fighting Marine    130

115. Kil-Moon     131

116. The Tiger (From Poland)   132

117. Watanabe      133

118. Saensak      134

119. Irish (Super lightweight)    135

120. Emile      136

121. Chuvalo      137

122. The Rock      138

123. Double M     139

124. The Beast     140

125. Buster       141

126. Boom-Boom (from the United States)  142

127. Jones Jr.      143

128. Irish (Heavyweight)    144

129. El Zurdo de Oro (Golden Southpaw)  145

130. El Alacrán (The Scorpion from Mexico) 146

131. Bazooka (From Mexico)    147

132. The Ambling Alp    148

133. Baek      149

134. Chong-Pal     150

135. Little Bull (From Venezuela)   151

136. Hitman (from United Kingdom)   152

137. Arbachakov     153

138. Nino      154

139. Soo-Hwan     155

140. Yanbarukuina     156

141. Pigu      157

142. Ingo      158

143. Foster (light heavyweight)   159

144. Chitalada      160

145. The Professor     161

146. Winky      162

147. The Marrickville Mauler    163

148. Kittikasem     164

149. Popo      165

150. Black Uhlan of the Rhine   166

151. The Bear      167

152. Veeraphol      168

153. El Búfalo (The Buffalo)   169

154. Bad Bennie     170

155. Jinx      171

156. El Expreso de Chincha    172

157. Saad Muhammad    173

158. Joltin’      174

159. Tae-Shik      175

160. Parlov      176

161. El Temible     177

162. The Ox      178

163. The Punisher     179

164. The Cuajimalpa Cricket    180

165. Deuk-Koo     181

166. El Matador (From Nicaragua)   182

167. El Indio (From Puerto Rico)   183

168. Magnífico     184

169. Mi Vida Loca     185

170. El Torbellino (The Whirlwind)  186

171. El Mosquito     187

172. El Tigre Colonense    188

173. Patterson       189

174. El Relámpago (The Lightning Strike)  190

175. Terrible      191

176. Chico      192

177. Ferocious      193

178. G-Man      194

179. The Lynx of Parla    195

180. Schoolboy (Super featherweight)  196

181. Yori Boy      197

182. Ohashi      198

183. Happy      199

184. Bronx (Davey, the super welterweight)  200

185. Sugar Shane     201

186. Baby Jake     202

187. Road Warrior     203

188. Rafa      204

189. Pepe      205

190. El Travieso     206

El Inca      May 2019

Although you did not know when he was going to explode,

you couldn’t get careless.

But once he started letting his hands go,

he was simply merciless.

Known as El Inca, as he was known

during the time his career lasted,

he was one of the greatest punchers

there ever was.

A southpaw with dynamite of terror in both hands,

he fought with a tenacious aggressiveness

and once he had chance, he destroyed his opponents

in little pieces with such easiness.

During his career, he crushed opponents in a matter

of seconds without pity and without elegance.

He won all his pro fights;

none of them went the distance.

During his career, he won championships

as a super featherweight and as lightweight,

proving he was one of the most excited

fighters to watch in his day.

It’s sad his life ended abruptly,

leaving an unfinished legacy in the boxing world.

His career ended with a big what if for those fans

who watched him fight and love the sport.

––––––––

Tribute to Edwin Valero

The Manassa Mauler    May 2019

Exciting the crowd with his power

and aggressive style was the best thing he could do.

Once the fight was on, he would