03.10.08 – Jaime Castro-Núñez: I would like to start this year by remembering the short life of a talented boxer who mysteriously drowned on a West Dade lake at the early age of twenty. Virtually unknown by most, but certainly not forgotten, Robinson Pitalúa did not live enough to fulfill his dream of becoming a well-respected physician. For a disciplined person like him, boxing was not only a matter of belts and championship matches, but also the way to earn the dollars he would use to study medicine.
Born Robinson Javier Pitalúa Támara on September 3, 1965 in Monteria, Colombia, is better known as Robinson Pitalúa. His parents were Rafael Pitalúa and María Elena Támara. The very beginning of his boxing career goes back to 1977, when he started to go to the gym with his relative Zenón Vellojín. “What I remember the most about that epoch is that Robinson used to correct me. He was twelve or so, I was a boxer, and he was all the time like ´hey, Zenón, move to the laterals, man. Keep your hands up, don’t be an easy target´, until the day I told him, hey, take it easy, dude. I’m the boxer here,” recalls Zenón..
His father, Mr. Rafael, remembers that he never thought his son would become a professional boxer. “I believed he was just having fun with Zenón at the gym, but when I saw he was getting serious, I tried to persuade him saying that boxing was a sport for African-Colombian boys. You’re a white, handsome guy and your nose is going to be destroyed,” the nostalgic father remembers.
From 1977 to 1980 Robinson Pitalúa learned the basis of boxing under the tutelage of his relative Zenón Vellojín and boxer-turned-trainer Pedro Vanegas, who immediately recognized Robinson’s potential. “We were invited to participate in a national boxing tournament and I thought of Robinson right away. I asked his father for permission, but he said no. He was concerned about his son, but I promised nothing would happen to him and eventually he let him go,” says Vanegas. “The following week –adds Mr. Pitalúa- Robinson returned home with a gold medal. When we saw his accomplishment, my wife and I gave him the permission to keep boxing as long as he performed well at school.” It was at that moment when Robinson revealed his dream: “I won’t quit school because I want to study medicine”.
Later that year, he participated in the 7th National Juvenile Boxing Tournament held in the city of Neiva. He claimed the bantamweight gold medal and was declared the most technical boxer. In 1981, at the age of sixteen, he represented his home-city in the 32nd National Boxing Tournament held in Barranquilla, winning the gold. Then he represented Colombia in the 9th Bolivarian Games in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, where he added a silver medal to his chest.
In 1982 he became a three-time bantamweight national champion by winning the 33rd National Boxing Tournament that took place in Buenaventura. Later, he traded punches in the 3rd World Championships, held in Munich, Germany, from May 4-15, having a discrete performance. In 1983 he represented Colombia once again in the 2nd South-American Boxing Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador, claiming the silver one. Then he traveled to Caracas, Venezuela, to participate in the 9th Panamaerican Games. The bantamweight medalists were:
Manuel Vilchez VEN. Gold.
Pedro Nolasco DOM. Silver.
Robinson Pitalúa COL. Bronze.
1984 witnessed the effervescency of his amateur boxing career. In the city of Pasto, he became a four-time national champion. Then he won the gold medal in the Olympic Festival in Mexico. This accomplishment gave him the dreamed ticket to Los Angeles, USA. Boxing at the 1984 Olympic Games took place in the Memorial Sports Arena, from July 29 to August 11. Robinson Pitalúa represented Colombia in the bantamweight division. He made it to the quarterfinals with the following opponents and results:
Defeated Hugh Dyer of Belize. RSC 2.
Defeated Ali Khan of Pakistan. 5-0.
Lost to Maurizio Stecca of Italy. 0-5.
In the Olympic Games, he ranked 7th out of 35 boxers. After the Olympics, he returned home and three months later turned pro. On November 24, 1984, Robinson Pitalúa made his professional debut in the featherweight division at Estadio 18 de Junio, castigating Manuel Mendoza at will in the first round and knocking him out in the following. Fifteen days later he outclassed José Salazar. In early 1985 he easily dispatched two more opponents in his native Montería.
At that particular point nobody in Colombia doubted that glory, money, and fame were waiting for Robinson. It was just a matter of time. Former boxer Zenón Vellojin says that Robinson had the amazing ability of inventing inside the ring. “When he realized that what his corner man wasn’t working, he invented.” Mr. Robinson Suárez, a boxing authority who broadcasted most of Robinson’s amateur bouts in the early eighties, defines his namesake with the following words: “He was the summary of what boxing is looking for today: an exceptional person and a superb boxer. The person over the athlete.” And he adds: “He impressed the American promoters not only for his boxing skills, but also because he was a good-looking guy. He was clever, cheerful, and disciplined. He had a Chicano appearance that they loved.”
These virtues called the attention of Félix “Tuto” Zabala, Miami’s greatest promoter and boxing manager, who promptly offered representation. In July 1985 Robinson Pitalúa moved from Monteria to Miami, where he began to train under the supervision of a wise man, Argentinean master Amilcar Brusa. Mr. Rafael Pitalúa remembers that the night before the flight, he told his son: “You’re going to be alone in Miami. You won’t have either me or your siblings over there. Be disciplined, responsible and watch your back. Fellow boxers will be your enemies.” Both father and mother prayed for his son’s future. He gave a hug to his parents, siblings, and to his girlfriend, Amparo Acosta Morales. That was the last time they saw him alive.
all photos courtesy of the Pitalúa-Támara family