A young Hispanic male growing up in Denver today probably couldn’t imagine the circumstances faced by Ernest Martinez in his early teenage years.
In 1945, most everyone was struggling in the aftermath of the one- two punch of the Great Depression and World War II. Martinez ended his formal education after the eighth grade in order to earn money to help his family. His sports club was the Epworth Community Center, a couple of blocks away from his home on Lawrence Street. It was at Epworth where he met Rudolfo “Corky” Gonzales, an up- and-coming Denver boxer.
It wasn’t surprising that Martinez followed in his new friend’s footsteps and became “Red” Martinez, an accomplished professional boxer in his own right.
“Corky and I started training together when I was 15,” Martinez said. “One day he told me, ‘Let’s enter the Golden Gloves.’ The next year we both went to Chicago for the championships.”
One of his memorable fights was against contender Pappy Gault at Denver’s Mammoth Gardens. Martinez won a unanimous 10-round decision over Gault, who fought three times for the world title. It boosted Martinez into the national limelight and into conversations in boxing circles for a possible bout for the bantamweight title.
Martinez was riding high. He had drawn the attention of a prominent boxing manager, Al Weill, and was signed by Weill to a three-year contract. Martinez became a stablemate of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano’s.
While the association with Marciano was a boxer’s dream, the partnership with Weill didn’t work out.
Martinez was in a hurry for a title fight and more money. He had earned only $1,400 for the Gault fight. Weill spent most of his time promoting Marciano, leaving Martinez to ponder his future. He decided to retire after a Denver fight with Jesse Mongia in 1955.
“I was winning and every time I’d win, he’d say he would get me a title fight,” said Martinez, who compiled a professional record of 32-12-4, including 17 knockouts. “I finally just told him, ‘I quit.’ “
After military service, Martinez stayed close to boxing for a few years. He managed Felipe Garcia, who won three world kickboxing championships and worked with local boxers.
Martinez no longer has a connection to the sport, but he has a rather large carrying case with copies of stories and pictures that tell the boxing story of Red Martinez. Although worn and faded, the copies are legible enough to see the names and places of Denver’s boxing past — Mammoth Gardens, still there on East Colfax; the Elks Punch Bowl, located on California Street, where the Colorado Convention Center now stands; Ray Keetch, who refereed just about every big boxing match in Denver in his time; and Tommy Golden, a policeman who helped manage and train Martinez in the early days of his career.
“The boxing game was a lot better in my day,” Martinez said. “Today it’s a big show. They dress in feathers and jump in and out of the ring.”
Audrey Martinez, one of Red’s daughters, wrote a term paper on his life while attending the University of Colorado at Denver.
“I enjoyed finding out about his early life and how important that time was to the social realm of the Hispanic community,” Audrey said. “He always was a positive influence on his people and bringing them together in a tough time.”
While he hasn’t been in the ring in Denver for some 54 years, boxing is still in Red’s blood. Just the other day, while walking in Berkeley Park near his home in north Denver, a passerby asked why he wasn’t running for his roadwork.
“I’m not in a hurry anymore,” Martinez replied.
Red Martinez
Born: Aug. 11, 1930, in Denver
School: Cole Junior High in Denver
Military service: U.S. Army
Family: Son Anthony (deceased); daughters Janet, Audrey, Claudine and Rachel
Hobby: Walking every day
Activity: Tuesday breakfast with friends from the north side
