Former world flyweight boxing contender Pacheco dies

Ray Pacheco had never entered a boxing match weighing more than 111 pounds, so it was quite a risk he took in the early 1960s signing a contract guaranteeing he would weigh 113 pounds for a bout at the old Silver Slipper casino.

"Ray couldn't gain the weight, and I didn't want to have to forfeit the $100 I gave (the Nevada Athletic Commission) to guarantee he would be that heavy," said 75-year-old Ray Nelson, the one-time trainer of the highly touted Pacheco.

"So, we lined Ray's jockstrap with lead before the weigh-in, and he barely made the contracted weight. It wasn't legal, but a hundred bucks was a lot of money back then."

When it came to fighting, Pacheco always got the lead out -- peppering lightning-quick fists to the head and torso of opponents and displaying a great deal of heart in every match he fought en route to becoming a Las Vegas pugilistic legend.

Rafael "Ray" Pacheco, a 1953 Las Vegas High School graduate who long held the Nevada flyweight title and was at one time the highest-ranked American in his weight class, died Sunday of complications from diabetes at Lake Mead Hospital Medical Center. He was 64 and a resident of North Las Vegas.

Services for the Southern Nevada resident of 54 years and longtime painter at the Sahara hotel-casino, will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the home of Rita Moore, 5504 Carnation Meadow St.

"One thing about Ray -- he always came to fight," said Nelson, a retired schoolteacher who guided Pacheco throughout his amateur career and early in his professional career.

Former Sun boxing columnist George King wrote in the March 19, 1961, editions that Pacheco "had trouble getting anyone in the 112-pound division to fight him in this country."

As a result, Pacheco often fought bantamweights who outweighed him by as much as 10 pounds. Through early 1963, Pacheco, the one-time ninth-ranked flyweight in the world, had a pro record of 16-12-3, but most of the losses were to heavier fighters.

Pacheco came to national attention in December 1959 in Sacramento when he won a split decision over highly regarded Dommy Ursua of the Philippines.

Pacheco also had lost to Ursua. He also won and lost to Ramon Arias of Venezuela -- both matches were in Arias' homeland -- and Abe Villa. For the second Arias fight, Pacheco received one of his biggest purses, $2,000 -- an amount dwarfed by the five-, six- and seven-figure paychecks today's contenders earn for a single bout.

"When my father would come home from a fight, he would pull out a white sock and dump the contents on the floor -- it was filled with silver coins that fans had tossed in the ring after the bout," Margaret Smith of Henderson said. "All of us kids would scramble to pick up the coins."

During his stellar pro career, Pacheco also beat Wayman Gray in 1959 in Utah, Tino Salazar in October 1960 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Jesus Mirada that same month also in Las Vegas and Changa Magallanes in October 1961 at the convention center.

Pacheco, who stood 5 feet 3 inches, was about to receive a shot against world champ Pone Kingpetch when, on May 29, 1962, in a North American title bout in Las Vegas, he suffered a technical knockout at the hands of California flyweight champ Ray Perez.

In a return bout in January 1963 in San Jose, Pacheco again lost to Perez by technical knockout and dropped out of the world rankings. A year later Pacheco's fight career ended when a medical exam revealed he had suffered a detached retina. He refereed for a while at fight cards at Cashman Field but soon left boxing forever.

"My father was a family man first," Smith said. "When his work day ended, he couldn't wait to get home to his children. He did not want to hang around boxing rings reliving his past."

Born Sept. 13, 1934, in Govenader, N.M., Pacheco was the son of Jose Pacheco and the former Florence Garcia. Pacheco's father, a carpenter and miner, brought his family to Las Vegas in 1945 and went to work at the Blue Diamond gypsum mine.

Pacheco began boxing while at Las Vegas High and won the Nevada Golden Gloves flyweight title. He turned pro after serving in the Navy Reserves.

At age 19, Pacheco married a 15-year-old Las Vegas girl, whom he divorced 14 years later. As a single parent, he raised their seven children. Pacheco married Las Vegan Debbie (Goff) Pacheco in 1977. She survives him.

In 1964 Pacheco joined the local painters union and worked for two years at the Stardust and 27 years at the Sahara before retiring Dec. 28, 1997. In his spare time he competed in several bowling leagues at the Showboat lanes.

Pacheco recently underwent triple heart bypass surgery. He was diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes four years ago.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Pacheco is survived by five other daughters, Toni Romero and Mary Pacheco, both of Henderson, Ramona Binkley of Canyon Lake, Texas, and Christina Carrillo and Destiny Pacheco, both of North Las Vegas; three sons, Edward "Vince" Pacheco of Parowan, Utah, Thomas "Abel" Pacheco of San Antonio and John Carrillo of Henderson; two sisters, Julia Espinosa and Teresa Helen Sandoval, both of North Las Vegas; one brother, Jose Martinez of Salt Lake City; 23 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Pacheco was preceded in death by a son, Steve Pacheco, in 1986.

The family suggests donations be made in Pacheco's memory to the American Diabetes Association, 2785 E. Desert Inn Road, Suite 140, Las Vegas, NV 89121.

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