Deportes
19y

Who is Jorge Kahwagi?

BUENOS AIRES (ESPNdeportes.com) -- Jorge Kahwagi is a unique case in the history of Mexican boxing, and maybe in the whole world. Although not exactly for the right reasons.

Far from being a faithful exponent of a sport in which Mexico has always been the signature country of Latin America, the fans and the specialized Mexican press think Kahwagi is a disgrace to the land of the Sanchez, Cuevas, Olivares, Chavez, Morales, Barrera and so many other greats.

The accusations are to the extent that is has been said that all his professional fights have been previously arranged. An accusation of which ESPNdeportes.com wanted to talk with Kahwagi himself, who by the way did not answer many of the calls we made to get to know his side of the story.

Only a few weeks ago, the 30th of July, the accusations were bigger than ever, after Kahwagi' s victory by KO in the second round against Brazilian Roberto Coehlo in a fight on the card of Jorge "Travieso" Arce and Angel Priolo that took place in La Paz, Mexico.

Renown voices, such as the one of the prestigious trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Bertistain, said Kahwagi was "a fraud that tricked people."

A MAN OF MANY FACES

However, boxing is just one of the many aspects of Kahwagi's high tempo and public life.

With a major in law from the prestigious National Mexican University (UNAM) and another major in business administration from the Ibero American University, Kahwagi is a successful entrepreneur in his country, where he for example is, the corporate director of the newspaper La Cronica, which belongs to his father.

"I don't understand why the Brazilian fighter stopped throwing punches since he had Kahwagi beaten, and that's why the people protested and threw objects to the ring."
Manager and ex boxer Lorenzo Lopez

What's more, he also has played an important role in the commercial Mexican industry.

As if this weren't enough, this 37 year old man decided to press his luck in the political environment, which has also drawn a lot of questions.

Kahwagi is a federal delegate in the Green Ecologic Mexican Party, and a lot of people say that he only got to that position because of his network with powerful people.

To even worsen his public image, he applied for a temporally license from Congress in order to take part of the television show "Big Brother".

"The politician's image is not a good one. We need new ways of given them oxygen," Kahwagi justified himself.

But that move was on the verge of starting a political-social crisis in Mexico. Kahwagi had assured that his license would be without gaining his salary, although the books showed he got his nay salary in advance.

The business man/boxer had promised to only not fulfill his obligations during a week, but stayed in the show for nearly a month an a half, since he reached the finals, although he did not win.

In an article published in "The Economist", for example, the journalist Adrian Trejo gave a definition shared by many of his colleagues of the Mexican press.

"We invited all our readers to vote on the continuity of Jorge Kahwagi in 'Big Brother'. The results showed that the delegate causes less harm on the country, boxing and ecology, while he is contained in the 'Big Brother' house."

FOR HIS LOVE OF BOXING?

However, despite all his eccentricities, Kahwagi keeps saying that "boxing is a sports that I carry in my heart."

He has said that he started boxing when he was eight years old, when his father, Jorge Kahwagi Gastine, introduced him to the sport in order for him to know how to defend himself.

His amateur career took place in the UNAM, where Kahwagi says he fought 43 bouts without defeats, finishing with 38 knockouts.

Unfortunately, those statistics could not be confirmed because there wasn't enough information.

Not satisfied with this, which most people would be, Kahwagi decided to turn pro at the age of 33, an age at which most boxers are thinking of retirement.

A CONTROVERSIAL CAREER

The 10th of November of 2001, Kahwagi made his professional debut with a KOT in the first round against American Perry Williams, who five months later was under investigation by the California Athletic Commission for allegedly taking a dive against Joey Torres.

After that fight, Williams was suspended and did not fight again. After that, it was known that Torres boxing career was directly linked to his job as an informant of the Los Angeles Police.

Since that victory against Williams, Kahwagi won the following ten bouts, all of the by knockout. Curiously, of his 11 eleven victories, seven took place in the first round and three in the second round. Only the unknown Russian Alexei or Oleg (not even his real name was confirmed) Osokin was able to "resist" almost four rounds.

Undoubtedly, the big categories are not that important in Mexico, which explains why Kahwagi became national champion in the Cruiserweight Division in 2002, after only two fights in his career.

The most prestigious rival Kahwagi has had is Buck Smith, and old American sparring who has more that 150 victories.

Most of his victories have come against unknown fighters, whose records cannot be determined, in the state of Oklahoma, which has been accused of frauds and phony records.

Kahwagi, however, is proud of his boxing career, and brags about having won, for example, some regional titles of the World Boxing Council (CMB) and of the World Boxing Organization (OMB).

A BOXING FAREWELL?

Most of the Mexican means of communications questioned Kahwagi's victory over Coelho the last 30th of July.

After beating up Kahwagi in the first round, the South American boxer suddenly stopped throwing punches, something that caused a lot of disappointment in the people witnessing the bout; they started throwing objects to the ring.

The Mexican boxer took advantage of the sudden stoppage of his rival and went after him, although the punches were not very precise. However, Coehlo went down two times , and did not get up in the second count by referee Jose Gonzalez.

The fans booed both boxers, who left the stadium while the people yelled: "fraud."

Kahwagi offered his version of the fight: "I could not react in the first round, I had 14 stitches on my mouth, and I fractured my nose and hand. They told me that if did not finish him off in the next round, they could stop the fight because of my bad cut. That's why I took charge."

But evidently, that explanation wasn't credible enough to silent the Mexican critics.

Foe example, the manager and ex boxer Lorenzo Lopez told Notimex that Kahwagi's "fights" keep the people from going to the stadiums, "because they consider the boxing environment as fake."

"I don't understand why the Brazilian fighter stopped throwing punches since he had Kahwagi beaten, and that's why the people protested and threw objects to the ring," added Lopez.

Lorenzo went even further when he said "money is money and I have the knowledge that he buys his rivals, and that's why his fights end up like they do, a fraud, an exception in boxing."

Meanwhile, the Boxing Comission of Merida (CBM) president Jose Manzur Arguelles, recommended Kahwagi "to retire from boxing where he has no future, for the sake of the sport and for the respect of the fans."

"If he wants to keep on boxing, he should do it on the amateur level. It's embarrassing. He does not offer a good show, and that was clear against Coehlo," added Arguelles.

But maybe the most harsh commentaries were made by "Nacho" Beristain, who said "Kahwagi was not a fighter. If they ever trained him to box, they didn't do a good job, because his technique is very bad, and he is not in good shape."

After so many critics, the Boxing Commission of the Mexican Federal District might have found the best solution to the problem: they decided to suspend him for 12 months for not having the medical permission needed for his fight against Coehlo.

This means Kahwagi will not be able to fight in Mexican soil for the next year.

"I will insist on fighting and winning a world championship, and I hope it is before the end of 2005. I am dreamer and I want to be world champion," Kahwagi said before his fight against Coehlo.

Although maybe Kahwagi's aspirations may have started to stumble definitely. I am sure nobody will be really sad.

Sebastián Contursi, an ESPNdeportes.com reporter, has worked for different media in Argentina and the United States. He has attended more than 70 boxing world title bouts, Roland Garros 2001 and other tennis ATP events, FIFA World Youth Championship Argentina 2001, World Cup Korea/Japan 2002 and several Copa Libertadores, UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League games.

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