Professional Boxer. A popular and busy lightweight of the late 1940s, he is remembered for his three unsuccessful attempts to wrest the world title from Ike Williams. Raised in Mexico to age 17, he moved to San Francisco where he worked in the meat packing industry; having had a few early professional fights in his native land he made his American bow with a first round knockout of Buddy Spencer on June, 15, 1943, at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Bolanos quickly became a Southern California fan favorite and was to beat steadily better opponents before meeting world champion Williams at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field on April 30, 1946; stopped on cuts in the 8th. round he kept on fighting and winning before facing Williams a second time in a May 25, 1948, bout which he lost on a controversial decision. Losing to Williams for a third time in 1949 he fought but few further important matches though he did face highly regarded Art Aragon twice in 1950, losing both times on a TKO. Bolanos' final American match was a 7th. round TKO over Pee Wee Swingler on June 24, 1952, though he did appear twice more in Mexico, losing a 10 round decision to Manuel Rivera on August 16, 1952, before retiring with a final record of 79 wins with 44 by knockout, 22 losses, and 5 draws. Remaining in Southern California he worked in sales for a beer distributor and for Central Electric and died in a nursing facility of heart disease.
Professional Boxer. A popular and busy lightweight of the late 1940s, he is remembered for his three unsuccessful attempts to wrest the world title from Ike Williams. Raised in Mexico to age 17, he moved to San Francisco where he worked in the meat packing industry; having had a few early professional fights in his native land he made his American bow with a first round knockout of Buddy Spencer on June, 15, 1943, at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Bolanos quickly became a Southern California fan favorite and was to beat steadily better opponents before meeting world champion Williams at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field on April 30, 1946; stopped on cuts in the 8th. round he kept on fighting and winning before facing Williams a second time in a May 25, 1948, bout which he lost on a controversial decision. Losing to Williams for a third time in 1949 he fought but few further important matches though he did face highly regarded Art Aragon twice in 1950, losing both times on a TKO. Bolanos' final American match was a 7th. round TKO over Pee Wee Swingler on June 24, 1952, though he did appear twice more in Mexico, losing a 10 round decision to Manuel Rivera on August 16, 1952, before retiring with a final record of 79 wins with 44 by knockout, 22 losses, and 5 draws. Remaining in Southern California he worked in sales for a beer distributor and for Central Electric and died in a nursing facility of heart disease.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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REST IN PEACE
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