Sugar Boy Nando-The Original Sugar Boy

[BoztheMadman]

Never mind the fact that he's got 44 losses on his record. Never mind the fact that few even know who he is today. Sugar Boy Nando was a fighter to be taken seriously. He was so promising that at one point, Rocky Marciano came to see him and was interested in managing him. But that never really materialised. Nando travelled so much and changed his residence so much that many didn't even know where he really was from. For a long time, he was said to be from Aruba. However, his birth name was Fernando Mueller-a German last name. It wasn't until recently that it was discovered that he is in fact Dominican. He definitely had talent and punching power to boot, but his career took off too late and he lost too many fights in the end, yet it is likely that many of the decisions he has lost to home fighers were questionable.

 

As mentioned, he was born Fernando Mueller on 11 March 1931 in San Pedro de Marcoris, Dominican Republic. At some point, he moved to Aruba where he started his professional boxing career. His early career is very obscure and there is no certainty of exactly when he started to fight professionally, but it is assumed sometime in February 1948. That would make him still 16 at his professional debut. He won that fight by first round ko against another debutant called Marin Oriental. He also faced debutants in his next two fights and won them both by stoppage in 3 rounds. He then faced the 3-0 Kid Peligroso who handed him his first professional loss, on points after 8 rounds. He again lost to Peligroso the same way in the rematch 2 months later. Nando then beat him almost 2 months later in another 8-round decision. And then, in their fourth fight, Nando's manager jumped into the ring for unknown reasons and the fight was stopped in the fifth round, thus resulting in a TKO loss for Sugar Boy. Joe Louis fought an exhibition bout on the same card, coincidentally. At first Nando fought as a welterweight, but soon the 6-foot Dominican grew into a middleweight. His first fight there was in August 1954, when he stopped Young Tunney by TKO in the first round after decking him three times. His power blossomed at the higher weight, as it sometimes happens to boxers and he won two of his next fight also by knockout in 1. In December of '55 he won the West Indies middleweight title by UD15 against Diamante Negro.

 

However, his results were mixed in the next fights and he found himself fighting lesser fighters for the next few years. In March '60, he was stopped by the excellent Mauro Mina of Peru, who would become the only light heavyweight to beat Bob Foster, in 3 rounds by ko. It wasn't until late '61, when he knocked out the American Claude Williams in 2, that he started getting attention. It was around this time Marciano showed interest in him, but was a little shocked when he saw that Nando could enjoy a glass of beer now and then. He was given Charley Goldman as trainer, who used to be Marciano's trainer and also trainer of Kid Gavilan, Lou Ambers, Jersey Joe Walcott and Fritzie Zivic. In early 1962, Nando came to USA to fight and beat two lesser American fighters, both on points. He was then given the first big fight of his life against Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, on 21 May that year. Nando was far more experienced in the number of fights he had, but few were against quality opponents. The fight was stopped in the third round and Carter won by TKO but Nando himself claimed it was a robbery, in other words stopped prematurely. He then fought the slick and experienced veteran Holly Mims, who proved to be too slick and experienced for him, even though fight was competitive and ended in split decision loss for Sugar Boy. Unfortunately, Nando would also lose the next 3 fights, all on points, one against the welterweight champion of Curacao, Jack Johnson. He then went to Rome at the end of 1963 to fight Tommaso Truppi and knocked him out in the fifth with a right to the chin. He was then supposed to fight Nino Benvenuti when, after his story, he was approached by a mafioso in Rome who tried to pay him to take a dive, but he refused. He and Benvenuti faced eachother in April '64 and Benvenuti was dominant, keeping Nando on the defensive with his dangerous left hooks and taking a 10-round decision.

 

He then avenged the loss to Jack Johnson twice, both times outpointing the Curacaoan welterweight champion and took the Central American middleweight title in his best victory ever when he stopped the hot contender from Nicaragua, Luis Gutierrez, by TKO 15. He also fought Gomeo Brennan to a draw after that. Another good victory was when he stopped the best Spanish middleweight of that time, Luis Folledo, by TKO 6. But Folledo recuperated and decisioned him in the rematch. In late 1966, he moved unexpectedly to Oslo, Norway of all places, where he started training in the local Dælenenga boxing club in East Oslo. He served as an inspiration to many amateur hopefuls. There he started rebuilding his career with a series of knockout victories, most notably against Manfred Graus, whom he previously lost to on points in an uninspired performance. Nando stopped Graus in the rematch with an uppercut to the body, in the 6th round. At the same time as boxing, Nando played piano in a bar in West Oslo, overlooking the Oslofjord. His last notable victory was against Italian Silvio Ceriano whom he knocked out clean with an uppercut to the chin in the 8th round.That was his last victory and, after one more uninspired fight that ended in a draw, he left Oslo. He went back to globetrotting across the world and went to Ivory Coast to fight the French Jo Gonzalez in early '68. He was outboxing Gonzalez in the first four rounds when his legs suddenly failed him and he started receiving punishment. He was then stopped by an uppercut to the liver in the sixth round. He was then decisioned by Juan Carlos Duran, future WBA light middleweight champion and then faced Freddie Little and lost to him by KO 4. Little would also become the world champion at light middleweight.

 

By now it was obvious Sugar Boy was finished as a contender and after one more fight in early 1970 which he lost on points to unknown Joop Kruijs of Holland, he finally hung up his gloves. His record is 68(38)-44-7. A record as mixed and colourful as his life and career. He now lives in Berlin, Germany.

Edited May 4, 2016 by BoztheMadman