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Wright: A look at New Mexico's Black boxing history
Juneteenth, June 19, is a federal holiday — Emancipation Day for black Americans.
Zim Satcher, a Rio Rancho boxing trainer, is a Black man who studied The Sweet Science with the late Joe Louis Murphy, a Black boxer named for a Black boxer. Murphy, an Albuquerque native, was a boyhood friend of the late Bob Foster, a Black man and New Mexico’s first professional world champion.
When Satcher called the Journal last week, he said it wasn’t really with a story in mind. He was just extending an invitation to come by and see how his boxing club was growing — and how his son, Zimbalist Satcher Jr., was progressing.
But Satcher did reference Juneteenth, in essence extending an invitation to reflect on the Black community’s contribution to boxing in New Mexico.
For Satcher, that begins and ends with Murphy, who died in 2023 at age 86.
“He was a hero to many,” Satcher said, “and he was an African-American hero here.”
For most of us, though, it began with Foster, the undisputed world light heavyweight champion from May 1968 to June 1974 — having successfully defended the title 13 times.
Foster (51-8-1, 46 knockouts) ranks among the fiercest punchers of all time. A charter member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, he died in 2015 at 76.
Of New Mexico’s five world men’s world champions — Foster, Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero, Austin Trout and Angelo Leo — two, Foster and Trout, are Black.
Murphy was never a world champion. His record, (13-11-3, four KOs), compiled between 1955 and 1966, may seem unimpressive, particularly in comparison to Foster’s. Murphy’s contributions continued through the decades, however, as a trainer and promoter.
Professional boxing’s U.S. fan base is predominantly Hispanic, especially in the Southwest. As a natural consequence, so are most of the boxers.
Not all.
Trout (37-5-1, 18 KOs), a Las Cruces southpaw, defeated Rigoberto Alvarez for the WBA junior middleweight title in February 2011 and successfully defended four times — one of those against Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden — before losing the belt to Rigoberto’s brother Canelo in April 2013.
Trout continues to campaign in bare-knuckle fighting. Unbeaten (5-0) in BKFC competition, he’s scheduled to face Ben Bonner on July 3 in Philadelphia for that organization’s lightweight title.
He was a USA Boxing national champion and a 2004 Olympic alternate as an amateur.
Foster, Trout and Murphy, then, stand out among New Mexico’s Black fighters and contributors.
There have been others.
Siju Shabazz, Trout’s former training partner in Las Cruces, won a Golden Gloves national title in 2007. Shabazz was 6-3 with five KOs as a pro, campaigning from 2012-17.
It’s in the amateur ranks that lighter-weight Black New Mexicans made the most impact.
Earl Large (119 pounds) and Brooks Byrd (125), both of Clovis, won Golden Gloves national titles in 1967. Santa Fe’s Ray Theragood (119) did so in 1972.
Large boxed professionally from 1968-79, compiling a 38-17 record with 16 KOs. Byrd was 20-8-2 with 15 KOs as a pro from 1971-76. Theragood did not box as a pro.
Other New Mexico Black boxers from the pro ranks: Bruce Sewell (3-2-1, ‘85-86); Jason Bray, a Bob Foster protégé who fashioned a 6-0 (3 KOs) pro record from 1982-86 before moving on in life; Tony Foster (6-2, four KOs, ‘84-88), Bob’s son; Tony McNary (3-2, two KOs,’85-86); Richard Fowler (13-20-1, five KOs, ‘75-95); Bobby Alexander (1-2, one KO, ‘85-03); Jay Murphy (2-4, no KOs, ‘85-86), Joe Louis Murphy’s nephew; most recently, Jordan Gregory (2-3-3, no KOs, 2017-23).
The contribution of Black trainers like Joe Louis Murphy (Albuquerque), Willie Hall (Roswell), Henry Compton (Alamogordo) and Zim Satcher (Rio Rancho) should not go unappreciated.
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