Ferdie Pacheco
| Dr. Ferdie Pacheco | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 8, 1927 Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Education |
University of Florida University of Miami |
| Occupation | Artist, author, physician, sports commentator |
| Spouse(s) | Luisita |
| Children | 4 |
Dr. Ferdie Pacheco (born December 8, 1927) is the former personal physician and cornerman for world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, as well as numerous other boxing champions. Beginning in the late 1970s, Pacheco was a TV boxing analyst for several television networks, most notably Showtime. Pacheco is also a prolific author and painter and currently resides in Miami, Florida with his wife Luisita. His nickname is the "Fight Doctor."
Ferdie Pacheco was born in the immigrant community of Ybor City in Tampa, Florida, to J.D. and Consuela Pacheco. He is of Spaniard-Cuban descent. His father was a pharmacist, and Ferdie sometimes helped out in the neighborhood drugstore owned by his father, sparking an interest in medicine. In his later teenage years, Pacheco got a job as a waiter at the Columbia Restaurant.
Boxing was a popular sport in Ybor City, with amateur matches regularly held at the Circulo Cubano de Tampa and other clubs and venues around the neighborhood. Though not a boxer himself, Pacheco took an early interest in the sport and attended many bouts. He also developed an early interest in art, which was inspired by a trip to the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota with his maternal grandfather, Gustavo Jimenez.
Pacheco graduated from Tampa Jefferson High School, then earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and a medical degree from the University of Miami.
After graduation, Pacheco set up a medical practice in the Little Havana community of Miami. In the late 1950s, he regularly attended boxing cards arranged by local promoter Chris Dundee. At one of these events, Pacheco met Angelo Dundee, the promoter's brother, a boxing trainer who ran the 5th Street Gym. Angelo Dundee offered the doctor free tickets to matches if he would "help stitch up my fighters", beginning a partnership that would last many years.
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