Former boxing world champion Jorge ‘Locomotora’ Castro has tragically passed away at the age of 59.
Castro, an Argentine great who won 130 of his 144 fights across a 20-year career, died on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack at a bingo hall.
Castro’s daughter, Quimely, confirmed the cause of death and gave a heartbreaking account of his final moments in an interview with the Argentine media.
‘My dad’s passing was natural,’ she said. ‘He had a heart attack. His chest started to hurt and he couldn’t take it.
‘It was just a matter of 15 minutes, nothing more. The Scientific Police already took care of proving it was totally natural.
‘He was with me and my mom. We had a routine outing with my mom. They’re very close friends; they haven’t been a couple for 15 years, but they’re very close friends. It was an outing the three of us did.’
Former boxing world champion Jorge ‘Locomotora’ Castro has passed away at the age of 59
Revealing what happened, Quimely added: ‘We were fine and suddenly he told me, “I’m going to the bathroom”.
‘He went to the bathroom and when he came back he said, “My chest hurts a little.” I told him, “That’s because you smoke like a savage.” He told me, “It hurts a lot, daughter”.
‘That’s when we called the authorities at the place and it was like that, so fast, just like I’m telling it.
‘They took him to a separate room, started doing CPR on him privately, and that was it.’
Castro, who turned professional in 1987, was a ruthless boxer, with 89 of his 130 victories coming via knockout.
He became WBA middleweight champion seven years after his professional debut following a split-decision victory over Reggie Johnson.
Castro had previously lost to Terry Norris in 1991 when fighting for the WBC light-middleweight belt.
Castro’s most famous bout came in December 1994 when he completed an epic comeback victory over David Jackson, while he also faced legendary figures such as Roberto Duran and Roy Jones Jr during his career.
Outside of the ring, Castro was married six times and had 15 children and 14 grandchildren.
