Sports desk (EFE).- The legendary Spanish boxer of Cuban origin José Legrá passed away early this morning in Madrid at 90 years of age, as confirmed to EFE by sources from the Spanish Royal Boxing Federation (RFEB).
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The Spanish-Cuban boxer was one of the most popular figures in Spanish boxing after winning the featherweight world championship twice (1968 and 1972) and the European championship seven times.
He was also in possession of the Silver Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit since 2003.
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As Martínez assured, “the RFEB has offered all possible help” to his family and loved ones, who were by his side accompanying him in his final moments.
Manel Berdonce, coach of the Spanish Olympic boxing team for twelve years and one of the people closest to the Spanish-Cuban champion over the last two decades, had some emotional words of remembrance and recognition for Legrá and his contribution to the sport.
“In boxing there are good boxers, there are champions, there are stars and there are legends. Pepe Legrá is a legend,” he explained.
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‘Little Cassius Clay’
Nicknamed ‘the little Cassius Clay’, recalls Berdonce, Legrá leaves a “very important and great” legacy for Spanish boxing due to his way of conceiving boxing and his way of behaving: “He had a very particular style of boxing, he was very charismatic,” he stated.
Legrá, who spent his final years in a nursing home and suffered from “cognitive impairment,” was a “very happy man who always lived with a smile.”
“He always had a very good character and, until the very last moment, he always wanted to dedicate that eternal smile to us,” he added.
