BOLANOS, ENRIQUE 2013 LEAF LEGENDS OF THE RING CUT SIGNATURE (BECKETT)

HISTORY:  Enrique Bolanos, a Mexican boxer who three times fought for and lost the world lightweight title in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, died at age 87 in 2012. Bolanos died of heart failure at a convalescent facility near his Pasadena home, said his wife of 64 years, Ruby. The boxer’s soft-spoken demeanor and ring skill made him the most popular Mexican fighter in Southern California during the height of his career, which closed in 1952 with a 79-22-5 record and 44 knockouts. “Good looking guy, charming, very crowd-friendly style,” longtime boxing publicist Bill Caplan said. “They loved him to pieces.” Bolanos, born Aug. 24, 1924, in Mexico, came to the United States at 17 and engaged in three world lightweight title bouts at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles against ferocious Ike Williams between 1946 and 1949. Bolanos lost the first bout by eighth-round technical knockout, the second in a thrilling split decision in 1948, and the third by fourth-round TKO, again at Wrigley, with 18,9