Dr. Ferdie Pacheco was born as Fernando Pacheco Jimenez on December 8, 1927 in Tampa, Florida. Although he was a cut doctor for other fighters, he came to fame by being assistant cornerman to Angelo Dundee in Muhammad Ali’s career.
Ali’s home base for training was the 5th street gym in Miami Beach from the outset of his career. Angelo Dundee was his trainer for the entirety of it spanning over 20 years. Dr. Pacheco had a local practice, and his love for boxing and friendship with Dundee secured his job as Muhammad’s cut-man.
The two became friends, and he remained in the champ’s corner until the Shavers fight in 1977. His knowledge of the sport secured him a job next to Marv Albert as part of the NBC boxing team for years, and later with Showtime as well.
What most boxing fans don’t know, however is that although he was longtime member of the Ali camp, he performed the duties as his cut-man for free, and never drew a salary.
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