Punchers from the Past: Bernardo Caraballo

Name: Bernardo Caraballo
Born: 1 January 1942 Cartagena, Colombia
Died: 20 January 2022 Cartagena
Career 1961-1977
Record: 93 fights, 69 wins (30 by KO/TKO), 18 losses (11 by KO/TKO), 5 draws, 1 No Decision
Division: Flyweight, Bantamweight, featherweight
Stance: Orthodox
Titles: Colombian flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight
Major Contests
Scored wins over: Ramon Arias*,Mimoun Ben Ali, Pascual Perez **, Piero Rollo*, Chartchai Chionoi **, Manny Elias, Ronnie Jones, Waldemiro Pinto, Eugenio Hurtado, Antonio Herrera
Lost to: Eder Jofre**, Fighting Harada**, Chucho Castillo**, Alfredo Marcano**, Ernesto Marcel,**,
Drew with: Killer Solomon. Oscar Mendez,
**Past/ future holder of a version of a world title
* Unsuccessful challenger for a version of a world title
Bernado Caraballo’s Story
Caraballo achieved two first for Colombian boxing being the first Colombian boxer to be world rated and the first to fight for a world title. He was born in Bocachica, an island township of Cartagena situated on the entrance to Cartagena Bay. He sold brooms that his father made and also sold food and drinks on the streets as well as diving for coins tourists threw into the Bay-leaving no time for an education. He was small and thinly built but quick on his feet earning him the nickname of “The Deer”. His family relocated to an equally poor area of Cartagena where Caraballo shined shoes on the streets. His elder brother Humberto took up boxing and then encouraged him to do the same but it was watching the fights of Mexican Raul Macias at a theatre in Cartagena that was his real inspiration. He started to train at the age of 17 and he represented the Department of Bolivia at the National Games in 1959 and 1960 winning the championships in both years.
He turned professional in January 1961 winning ten fights that year including a points victory over former NBA bantamweight title challenger Ramon Arias a win which saw him break into the world ratings. It was a huge leap for Caraballo as after only nine fights at six and eight rounds he was facing Arias who earlier in 1961 had beaten European bantamweight champion Mimoun Ben Ali and former flyweight title challenger Sadao Yaoita and in August Arias had lost to Eder Jofre in a NBA title fight. Caraballo started 1962 with a draw against 52-fight veteran Killer Solomon but scored six wins beating Arias again, winning the Colombian flyweight title and knocking out American Ronnie DeCost in the first round.
In 1963 a run of 11 wins saw him shoot to No 2 in the Ring Magazine ratings as he beat Mimoun Ben Ali, former flyweight champion Pascual Perez and former NAB title challenger Piero Rollo. He lost only one fight in 1964 but it was the most important. He had scored wins over future world flyweight champion Chartchai Chionoi and Manny Elias.
His record was now 29-0-1 and in November 1964 he challenged Eder Jofre for the WBC and WBA belts. Jofre was 46-0-3 so two fighters with combined records a total of 75-0-4. Caraballo had severe problems making weight for the fight. Jofre won on a seventh round kayo to retain the titles and snap Caraballo’s unbeaten run. Caraballo bounced back with twelve wins over 1965 and 1966 including a points victory over Brazil’s Waldemiro Pinto whose record was even better than Jofre’s at 52-0-3. He also scored a revenge first round kayo over Killer Solomon, but both fighters were fined due to suspicion of a fixed fight.
Caraballo’s record was now 43-1-2 and to some extent that was the apogee for Caraballo. He had another shot at the bantam title in July 1967 losing on points against Fighting Harada for the WBA and WBC belts which Harada had won with a very close points victory over Jofre in May 1965. The year closed badly for Caraballo as he lost on an eighth round retirement against Chuchu Castillo (who would win the bantamweight titles by beating Ruben Olivares on a cut handing the 61-0-1 Olivares his first defeat). Caraballo kept active being 2-1 in fights in 1968 losing to future WBA super featherweight champion Alfredo Marcano and 5 in 1969 including a loss to future WBA featherweight champion Ernesto Marcel. He managed over 1972, 73 and 74 to put together a run of 13-1-2 winning the Colombian featherweight title but a run of six consecutive losses saw him retire in September 1977.
Caraballo was slick, stylish boxer with fast hands and excellent footwork but also a bit of an eccentric both in and out of the ring. A charismatic fighter who always filled the arenas and stadiums in Colombia no matter who he fought. His wife Zunilda related a story of when Caraballo fought Brazilian Waldemiro Pinto. On the afternoon and early evening of the fight no one could locate Caraballo. Zunilda searched until she located him at a friend’s birthday party. Caraballo had managed to forget he was fighting that night and had been drinking heavily. Zunilda dragged him out took him to the stadium threw him in the shower and did all she could to revive him but he was still far from sober when she pushed him up the ring steps but somehow he outpointed Pinto. She used to study every film or piece of information she could on his opponents and would sit at ringside shouting instructions to Caraballo between rounds reminding him of the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents. All this despite Caraballo being a serial womaniser. He was Colombia’s pied piper inspiring future stars such as Antonio Cervantes, Rodrigo Valdez, Fidel Basso, Prudencio Cardona and others by raising the profile of boxing in Colombia and showing the emerging fighters what was possible leading the way into the 1970’s and 80’ s that would be a Golden Age for Colombian boxing.
He fought in Philippines, Ecuador, Venezuela, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua and Chile and ten different towns and cities in Colombia. Shortly before the Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Cartagena in 2006 a stadium there was renamed The Coliseo Bernardo Caraballo
He was known for his generosity and unfortunately like so many boxers he admitted he had no money left when he retired. Once again Zunilda was the strong one who pushed him into working for the Government Department that ran the rivers and ports where he was doing light work eventually becoming a messenger. That work gave him eighteen years of employment and a pension to live on. His health was poor and he was often hospitalised with heart and respiratory problems and was infected with COVID-19 before dying from a heart attack on 20 January 2022 from heart failure.