Nicolino Locche
Born	Nicolino Felipe Locche September 2, 1939 Tunuyan, Mendoza, Argentina
Died	September 7, 2005(2005-09-07) (aged 66) Las Heras, Mendoza, Argentina
Nationality	Argentine
Other names	El Intocable (The Untouchable)
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light Welterweight
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	136
Wins	117
Wins by KO	14
Losses	4
Draws	14
No contests	1

Nicolino Locche (September 2, 1939 – September 7, 2005) was an Argentine boxer from Tunuyán, Mendoza who held the World Junior Welterweight title from 1968 to 1972. Locche is often cited as one of the finest defensive boxers of all time and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Boxing career

His family came from the Sardinian village of Villasor, located near Cagliari. Locche was known as "El Intocable" ("The Untouchable") due to his defensive mastery, and became the Lineal and WBA Light Welterweight Champion in Tokyo, Japan on December 12, 1968, after defeating Paul Takeshi Fuji by technical knockout after Fuji refused to start the 10th round out of frustration because of exhaustion and his inability to connect punches on "The Untouchable," according to the Argentine boxing commentators' recount of the bout (Dotora, 2004).^[1][2]

Locche became an idol in Argentina and routinely sold out the Luna Park, Buenos Aires every time he fought at the well known boxing arena. His boxing style made him a legend. He possessed uncanny reflexes, standing in front of his opponents with his hands lowered at his sides, behind his back or even resting on his knees as he slipped, bobbed and weaved to avoid his opponent's punches.

Numerous Argentine sources also cite the fact that Locche's approach towards submitting himself to traditional boxing training and discipline was sometimes lackadaisical. For example, Locche was a known habitual cigarette smoker throughout most if not all of his boxing career and his adherence to the strict dietary requirements of his trade was often quite flexible. It was not unusual to see his seconds crowd around him during the 1 minute break between rounds where he would be puffing furiously on a cigarette.

Locche defended his title six times, against Carlos Hernandez, João Henrique, Adolph Pruitt, Antonio Cervantes and Domingo Barrera Corpas, before losing it to Alfonso Frazier in Panama on March 10, 1972. Locche failed to regain the World Champion belt in a rematch with Cervantes (a.k.a., Kid Pambelé) and retired in 1975.

He was champion of Mendoza, Argentina, and South American lightweight and Jr. welterweight. Locche turned professional at the age of 19 and amassed a record of 117-4-14 (14 draws). He was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. The Ring has retroactively certified him as lineal Junior Welterweight champion from 1968 to 1972.

Locche died in Las Heras in 2005 of heart failure.^[3]

The Master Piece of "El Intocable"

On December 12, 1968, he reached the peak of his sporting career and became world champion by defeating Takeshi Fuji in Tokyo, Japan.^[4] That fight with Fuji was a work of art. The Japanese, then champion, faced an extremely uncomfortable opponent such as the Argentine, owner of a style based on a prodigious waist.

It was night and raining heavily in Japan's capital. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, it was also raining in a good part of Argentina and the morning work activity was practically paralyzed in the main cities so that people could follow by radio the alternatives of the fight that would take place in the Kuramae Sumo stadium. In the absence of satellite transmissions – they would only begin in 1969 – the only means to follow the alternatives of combat was radio. The popular Buenos Aires radio station LS5 Radio Rivadavia had sent to Tokyo the team made up of Osvaldo Caffarelli as rapporteur, Ernesto Cherquis Bialo as commentator and Jorge "Cacho" Fontana as commercial announcer. The morning before the fight, Locche surprised Cacho Fontana in the hotel bar by reviewing a script for the end of the broadcast, for a possible victory for him, and another in case he lost. "Give me that," Locche said, taking the piece of paper that alluded to the eventual defeat and, tearing it into a thousand pieces, clarified: "You're not going to need this one." Such was the confidence he had in himself, that that night he would surprise his companions: after a massage session, he fell peacefully asleep on a stretcher in the stadium's locker room while the preliminary fights were taking place in the ring. None of those who were part of his small entourage could believe it: coach Francisco "Paco" Bermudez, promoter Juan Carlos "Tito" Lectoure, sparring partner Juan Aguilar and Luna Park announcer Roberto Fiorentino.

It was a true exhibition, with nine rounds in which the Mendoza native dodged everything his opponent threw, while hitting fairly. A full Locche who showed that, trained, he could do anything he wanted in the ring: have fun as he did in Buenos Aires, or fight as he won against a world championship. Dejected and psychologically destroyed, with eye injuries, the Hawaiian-born Japanese man did not come out in the tenth round and left the title in the hands of his rival, who became Argentina's third world champion. Nick Pope, the same referee who had proclaimed flyweight winner Horacio Accavallo as world champion two years earlier, raised his right hand to Locche. And, just as it had happened with flyweights Pascual Pérez (in 1954 against Yoshio Shirai) and Horacio Accavallo (in 1966 against Katsugoshi Takayama), Nicolino's consecration also occurred in Tokyo. "Sensei, Sensei!" (master in Japanese), chanted the Japanese audience, surrendered and admired before such a boxing lecture by that colossus of the ring.^[5]

Professional boxing record

See also

• List of light welterweight boxing champions
• List of WBA world champions

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nicolino Locche.

• Boxing record for Nicolino Locche from BoxRec (registration required)
• ibhof.com
• Nicolino Locche - CBZ Profile
• (in Spanish) ESPNDEPORTES_Argentina
• (in Spanish) Articles from Argentina: Diario Clarin_1
• (in Spanish) Diario Clarin_2
• (in Spanish) Article from Uruguay El Observador