Local Boxer Who Fought For Brit Title Dies...

[Photo byJoe Hermosillo]

By BEATLE CANTU

BROWNSVILLE, TX - In his heyday, it was said no other boxer could take a punch like Claudio "El Cocodrilo" Herrera, perhaps the greatest fighter to come out of this dusty bordertown. Herrera, a battling heavyweight, died yesterday at La Ultima Cumbia Nursing Home on East Boca Chica Boulevard.

He was 97.

Born among the reeds and brushes of the Rio Grande, Herrera was best known for his bloody, 15-round affair in Cairo, Egypt against a young Henry Cooper - the then-British heavyweight champ. Sportswriters of the time called the fight "The Dusting in The Desert." The year was 1965 and Herrera was a ripe 52 years old, the oldest man to challenge for the English title. He lost to the brawler Cooper in a split decision. It would be his next to last fight, as Herrera also was clobbered the following year by a very young George Foreman in a fight held at the Astrodome in Houston.

"My biggest day was being interviewed by Howard Cosell," Herrera told a reporter for Sports Illustrated in 1988. "He kept calling me Claudius and referring to some Roman bullshit for some damned reason, but it was cool. I have only one regret - fighting Ali. I would've killed him, and he knows it." Herrera's professional boxing record ended with 212 wins and seven losses. He was undefeated in the Rio Grande Valley and in Mexico

Herrera married the Hollywood actress Mamie Van Vooren, who later divorced him during a losing streak and then married the baseball player Bo Belinsky of the then-Los Angeles Angels and no-hit fame.

He is survived by his wife, Fela "La Llave" Infante - an accomplished wrestler in her own right...

- 30 -

[Editor's Note: Writer Beatle Cantu covers boxing for the Herald-Tribune. He is a native of Argentina...]