By Carlos Irusta
FOR FIRST TIME in Argentina, two boxers are appearing on postage stamps. The National Post Office developed two pieces with the pictures of Luis Angel Firpo and Nicolino Locche. There were 104,000 copies made of each design; size 34 x 44cm. Sheets of 20 postage stamps. Perforation: 14. The official Day of emission was December 17, 2005 and the value for each one is 75 cents (about 20 American cents). “First Day” covers, 3,000 copies.
THE DECISION to choose the faces of Firpo and Locche was not easy. By far, Carlos Monzón is considered one of the great boxers of all time in Argentina, but remember he was convicted of murdering of his wife, Alicia. The other big candidate, for our opinion at least, was Pascual Pérez, the one and only Olympic champion (London, 1948) and pro world champion of Argentina – and the first at that (Tokyo, 1954).
AT LAST, Firpo and Locche were chosen. Luis Angel Firpo (1894-1960) is the Father of Argentine Boxing. When he fought Jack Dempsey at the Polo Grounds (1923), boxing was forbidden in Argentina. He had 42 pro bouts. Nicolino Locche (1939-2005) is, perhaps, the most loved boxer in Argentina, a true champion and a showman, who captured the junior welterweight belt in Tokyo (December 12, 1968) over Paul Fujii. He fought 10 world champions such as Ismael Laguna, Carlos Ortiz, Kid Pambele, Sandro Lopopolo, among others. Nicolino, with 108 pro bouts passed away on September 7, 2005.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED in boxing stamps, go to:
www.correoargentino.com.ar
Or
VENTA FILATELICA
APARTADO ESPECIAL M 286
CORREO CENTRAL
C1000ZAA CAPITAL FEDERAL
FIRPO WAS and still is remembered for his tremendous fight against Jack Dempsey; Locche was, too, a terrific fighter, a real master of the defense, who has been called “El Intocable” (The Untouchable) for his great style. The picture of Firpo was obtained from EL GRAFICO MAGAZINE, and the pic of Locche belongs to Francisco Espiani, a walking legend of the Argentina photojournalism field. And we must thank ourselves, because we have contributed to this development, and the National Post Office has thanked our magazine, Ring Side magazine