He was a world boxing champion, he was suspended for life and now he works as a street sweeper.

Everything has a reason. The life of Luis Lazarte He had good moments as well as very bad ones. The latter forged the personality of a controversial boxer, with good technique but also with a not so exemplary character. Today, at 53 years old and very far from the ring, “El Mosquito” is dedicated to sweeping the streets of Mar del Platayour natal city.

Since he was a child he had to live a life with very hard issues to face. The man from Mar del Plata, born on March 4, 1971, had 5 siblings and his biological mother gave him away when he was a baby. Luckily for him, his aunt adopted him, but the former boxer grew up his entire life with the pain of feeling the lack of love from his mother. Over time, he ran away from home to be a street kid; The street and resentment transformed him into a boxer.

What was the career of boxer Luis Lazarte like?

He Former IBF Light Flyweight World Champion He had a long journey in the world of boxing. He has 67 fights to his credit: 52 won, 12 lost (several disqualifications), 2 draws and one that had no result since both boxers were disqualified.

Lazarte’s career in the world of boxing began in neighborhood fights. First in a confrontation with a person who played sports and the other in a soccer match. After the first, the logical anger of having lost made the former pugilist want to learn to defend himself better. For the second one (with more experience in the fists) it was Jose Aguirreformer Fedelatin WBA champion, who saw him fight and told him: “Tomorrow you come to the gym.”

In 1996, Mosquito made his debut with a victory in the ring against Angel Antonio Barros in Mar del Plata. Over the years, and through fights, Lazarte perfected his technique and achieved good results. In fact, he was undefeated 9-0 until 1998, the year he suffered defeat for the first time and by disqualification.

As we say, the anger that made him enter boxing was the same that made him do unsportsmanlike things. “I wanted to be a normal boxer, but I got crazy and messed things up. I don’t know why,” said the former boxer in an interview for Infobae. Actions such as headbutts, bites and even illegal blows, all things that the ex-pugilist regrets today.

However, Lazarte’s ability in the ring was unquestionable. He had the chance to become world champion five times until he managed to do it on the sixth, at 39, in his 58th fight and close to retirement. It was at an evening held at the Club Once Unidos from Mar del Plata on May 29, 2010. “I don’t forget that night anymore. I wanted to be world champion and I finally achieved it. He had already tried it five times before. It was the dream of my career. It’s a shame that it was too big for me, I didn’t have much more to give in boxing,” summarized the former champion in an interview for La Capital de Mar del Plata.

Almost a year later, the man from Mar del Plata lost his world title after falling to the Mexican Ulises Solis by divided ruling. However, Lazarte did not let his guard down and went to seek a world title again.

On February 10, 2012, with a Club Once Unidos full of “The Truck Boys” cheering by name, Luis Lazarte went to recover the belt, but this time with the Filipino johnriel casimiro; That night marked the life of the former pugilist. The fight was dirty, for both sides. Both the Argentine and the Asian gave each other illegal blows in what was classified as a street fight. The judge of that night, Eddie Claudio, He commented some time later: “I remember it was a street fight. That night I was too much. I don’t know why they wanted a referee, if the two were fighting without rules.””. Matter that Lazarte elbowed, headbutted, bit and even tackled his opponent. The man from Mar del Plata ended up falling due to a technical knockout, but due to a “threat” to the judge, the IBF ended up suspending him for life.

“They kicked me out of boxing because in one of the rounds, when the referee dropped me a point, I asked him:You want to get out of here alive? But it wasn’t a threat, it was a question that was misinterpreted. I asked her to be even, but she’s done, I was wrong,” said the former boxer.

After being unemployed for 2 years, Lazarte returned to boxing and fought four more fights until 2015. He officially said goodbye to the ring in the defeat against the Chilean Miguel Gonzáles in the trans-Andean country.

What happened to the life of boxer Luis Lazarte after the suspension

Faithful to his lifestyle, after retirement Luis Lazarte continued on the streets, something he never let go. Since he was young, the former champion dedicated himself to the field of street cleaning, more precisely as a sweeper. In any case, it is a job that he started in 1988 as a garbage collector, a role that he had to leave because of the sport and because he broke his knees from getting on and off the truck so much.

“I have been working in the collection and cleaning service for 30 years.. I never stopped sweeping, not even when I was world champion. Nobody wanted this job before because it is unhealthy, now they kill themselves to enter the company”, Lazarte commented on Infobae.

Every day he gets up at 3 in the morning and with dignity. According to the sweeper, he was never ashamed to sweep, since for him shame is stealing or taking drugs. Despite all the downturns in his life, the former champion did not completely distance himself from the sport since he is dedicated to running. In addition, he formed a family with his wife, had two children and is now a grandfather.

Although his behavior in the ring was questionable, Luis Lazarte’s life is an example of resilience, work and effort, as he received hard blows inside and outside the ring. The important thing is what Lazarte teaches every day when he gets up at dawn to sweep the streets of Mar del Plata; It doesn’t matter how hard life hits you, but how to get up and continue with strength.