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Dr.
Ferdie Pacheco
At the tender age of
14 Ferdie Pacheco knew what he wanted to become. Ferdie was assisting
in surgery at Trelles Clinic in his native Ybor City.
Pacheco was a brilliant study, and his hospital
experience helped pave the way for a medical career that took
him to Miami’s poorest section. While in Miami, Pacheco opened
a clinic to help the needy in Liberty City. He kept the clinic
open until thugs burned it down in a race riot in the 70s.
In the course of his work in Miami Ferdie met
Angelo Dundee and the rest is history. Dr. Ferdie became the ‘Fight
Doctor’, the man best known as being in Cassius Clay’s
corner in the early days of his career. For those too young to
remember Clay, he later changed his name to Mohamed Ali. ‘Fight
Doctor’ became the title one of Ferdie’s earliest books.
Ferdie was with Ali through the glory years,
until he told Ali he could not box anymore because of damage done
to his kidneys, when Ali refused to quit, Ferdie did. He refused
to be part of the exploitation of the greatest heavyweight in
history.
He earned a reputation as a top notch boxing
commentator, working with some of the best in the business like
Marv Albert doing NBC’s boxing telecast. He has done fights
for Showtime, HBO and ESPN as well.
Ferdie’s life has been depicted 2 movies,
Ybor’s Joe Lala portrayed in one movie, and comedian Paul
Rodriguez in another.
Pacheco’s passion is art, and what an
artist-painter he has become. Ferdie’s works focus on the
early days of Ybor City. Not only is he a talented painter, but
Dr. Pacheco is also a terrific author with many credits, including
his signature ‘Ybor City Chronicles’.
His works are often displayed in La Gaceta,
the areas tri lingual newspaper. Ferdie and wife Luz have also
opened The Pacheco Gallery in Centro Ybor , where many of his
works are on display and sold.
We have some of Dr. Pacheco’s works on
display here. Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, a true Tampa Bay Legend.
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