Panama Al Brown

Alfonso Teofilo Brown (July 5, 1902 – April 11, 1951), better known as Panama Al Brown, was a Panamanian professional boxer.

He made history by becoming boxing's first Latin American world champion, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest bantamweight boxers in history.

Alfonso Teofilo Brown was born on July 5, 1902, to Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the City of Colón, Panama.

His father, Horace Brown, died when Brown was 13, and his mother, Esther Lashley, worked as a cleaner.

His first exposure to boxing came while working as a young adult clerk for the United States Shipping Board, at the Panama Canal Zone, witnessing American soldiers boxing.

Brown turned professional in 1922 under the guidance of manager Dave Lumiansky.

His first fight took place on March 19, 1922, when he beat Jose Moreno by a decision in six at Colon.

By his seventh fight, December 13 of that same year, he beat Sailor Patchett by a fifteen-round decision, to earn the Panamanian 'Isthmus' flyweight title.

On September 22, 1923, he had his first fight abroad, drawing in four rounds with Johnny Breslin, in New York.

He very quickly established a presence upon relocating to the city in 1923.

His rise was rapid; a year after his move to New York, The Ring magazine rated him the third best flyweight in the world; two years later, the sixth best bantamweight.

Brown began campaigning extensively across the United States before he suffered his first loss, at the hands of Jimmy Russo on December 6, 1924, by decision in twelve.

He would later avenge that defeat, and he beat Davey Abad and Willie LaMorte before being disqualified in the first round against Frankie Murray on June 11, 1925.

Despite that setback, he kept on campaigning successfully, fighting for the first time in his career at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 1926, against Teddy Silva.

Brown won with a third-round knockout.

On October 14, 1928, he was listed as the National Boxing Association (NBA) bantamweight champion.

On November 10 of that year, he knocked out Antoine Merlo in his Paris debut, at the Salle Wagram.

He enjoyed Paris so much that he decided to stay there for the rest of his life.

Brown won the NYSAC and lineal bantamweight titles in 1929 after defeating Gregorio Vidal.

In Paris he trained under Eugene Bullard who served as a fighter pilot in World War I. He became a hugely popular boxer in France, and fought on the European continent 40 times between 1929 and 1934.

Over the next three years, he beat several fighters there, including former world champion Eugene Criqui.

An interesting case happened when he fought Gustav Humery, on January 29, 1929.

Brown and Humery had previously agreed that they would not salute by touching gloves before the fight, and when the bell rang, Brown struck quickly, breaking Humery's jaw with his first punch and sending him to the floor.

With the referee's count of ten seconds, the fight lasted a total of fifteen seconds, one of the quickest knockouts in boxing history.

On June 18, 1929, Brown made history by becoming the world's first Latin American world champion.

He beat Gregorio Vidal by a fifteen-round decision to win the vacant NYSAC and lineal bantamweight titles, at the Queensboro Stadium, Long Island.

He became a national idol in Panama, and an instant celebrity almost everywhere else in Latin America.

Magazines such as Ring En Español were still talking about his achievement sixty years later.

Soon after he lost a ten-round, non-title fight to Battling Battalino.

In 1930, he won both the NBA and IBU bantamweight titles, after defeating Johnny Erickson and Eugène Huat.

After relocating to Paris, France, Brown became known within the gay nightlife of the time for his flamboyant lifestyle and his interest in the arts, performing in a cabaret.

On February 8, 1930, Brown beat Johnny Erickson by disqualification to claim the NBA bantamweight title.

On October 4, 1930, he beat Eugène Huat by unanimous decision to claim the IBU bantamweight title.

As an Afro-Panamanian in the US, Brown faced racial barriers throughout his boxing career, and had been stripped of the NYSAC and NBA titles by 1934.

He held the IBU title until 1935, when he lost it to Baltasar Sangchili.

In 1938, Brown fought for the IBU bantamweight title again in a rematch with Sangchili, winning on points.

He continued to box until 1942, but failed to achieve the same level of success he had previously enjoyed.

In 2002, Brown was named one of the 80 best fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring magazine.

He currently ranks #5 in BoxRec's ranking of the greatest bantamweight boxers in history.

He has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.