Luisa Monte
Adilson “Maguila” Rodrigues, the greatest heavyweight boxer in Brazil and one of the main in the history of South America, died this Thursday (24) at the age of 66. The fighter’s nickname came when he was already successful in the ring.
Before his career took off, Adilson worked as a security guard. Tall and strong, he earned the nickname “Godzilla” first. Later, they started calling him Maguila, in reference to the character in the Hanna-Barbera Productions cartoon, a gorilla.
According to Maguila’s biographer, Fernando Tucori, the nickname stuck when Newton Campos, master of ceremonies for his first fight, announced it as such. He described him as a promising fighter with a funny nickname: “Maguila”.
However, the fighter’s coach at the time, Ralph Zumbano, did not like the nickname, as he saw it as a form of racism against the athlete. According to the biographer, Maguila also didn’t like being called that, but he transformed the name into a symbol of his strength.
Maguila the Gorilla is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character –
The fighter had been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as dementia pugilistica, diagnosed in 2013.
Source: Folha
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