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MEMORY
Maguila became a national sensation when he became Brazilian champion after three fights
Former athlete, who had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, passed away at age 66
Published on October 24, 2024 at 3:56 pm
Maguila Credit: Reproduction
Cleaner in Aracaju. Bricklayer in São Paulo. Adilson Rodrigues became the most charismatic boxer in Brazilian boxing. Simple and spontaneous, Maguila – a nickname he received from his friends at work due to his resemblance to the character from a famous cartoon – gained space in the media and made his fights an unmissable event on Sundays. The eternal heavyweight champion died this Thursday, in São Paulo, at the age of 66. He suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy and had been hospitalized for 28 days.
Maguila arrived in São Paulo in 1970, together with his brother Maurício. He was scared by the city’s cold and went to work as a bricklayer. He ended up living in a truck, was arrested for ten hours for attacking a co-worker, pretended to be crazy not to serve in the Army and started boxing at the age of 22 at the hands of Ralph Zumbano, Eder Jofre’s uncle, at the gym of the extinct BCN.
“How much do you weigh, little boy?” asked Ralph, one of the most classic fighters Brazil has ever had. “Ninety-five,” Maguila said. Ralph was excited, as there are few national fighters in boxing’s main category.
In a short time, Maguila was champion of the traditional Forja dos Champions tournament and the Campeonato Paulista. In 1983, at the age of 25, he became a professional and after just three fights he was already national champion. Six more fights, under the guidance of narrator Luciano do Valle’s company, won the South American belt.
Maguila became a national sensation. His fights boosted the ratings of TV Bandeirantes, where Luciano do Valle worked. But 1985 was a difficult year for the boxer. Two crushing defeats to Argentine Daniel Falconi and Dutch Andre Van Oetelaar, both by knockout, almost ended his career. Ralph was fired and Miguel de Oliveira was hired in his place, who at the time shared with the legendary Eder Jofre the glory of having been world champion for Brazil.
With Miguel de Oliveira in the corner, Maguila handed Falconi and Oetelaar their defeat in kind and transformed them into a national idol. The focus of Luciano do Valle and his company, Luqui, turned to super champion Mike Tyson. Contacts were made with Don King, who looked after the interests of the North American phenomenon. Even a fight at Maracanã was dreamed of.
As a result, the challenges became greater. The first was winning the Americas title, with more than 10 thousand fans at the Corinthians Gymnasium, in São Paulo. Maguila defeated the tough American Rocky Sekorsky in 12 rounds.
More than 20 thousand people filled the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in 1987 for the fight against former world champion James “Quebra-Ossos” Smith. In a controversial decision, on points, the Brazilian was proclaimed winner. The triumph placed him in the top ten of the World Boxing Council rankings and a virtual challenger to Tyson.
The year 1988 was one of waiting for the opportunity to try for the world title. When she didn’t come, Maguila, second in the rankings, faced Evander Holyfield, who was first. In the Lake Tahoe duel, the Brazilian, trained by the legendary North American Angelo Dundee, who had worked with Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, won the first round for two of the three judges, but was annihilated in the second. “Dundee gave me the wrong advice. He told me to go after him (Holyfield)”, complained Maguila.
From then on, the Luqui company wanted to end Maguila’s career, who didn’t accept and went on to face the legend George Foreman in 1990. He then suffered another violent knockout in the second round. “I was so punched that I almost came to Brazil without paying a ticket,” he joked, when commenting on the strength of his North American rival, who was 41 years old at the time.
After Foreman, Maguila fought for another ten years. He made a pilgrimage through South America, accumulated money, maintained public interest, but he was never the same again. He went on to win the unimpressive World Boxing Federation world title, when he defeated the British Johnny Nelson. In fact, he also beat this opponent in the rematch.
In 2000, at the age of 42, he hung up his gloves. But he remained in evidence. He made TV commercials, participated in talk shows and recorded pagode CDs. With his death, boxing loses a unique character.
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