Jorge Páez did not learn to box in a gym. He learned under a circus tent, doing stunts, clowning around, and juggling from childhood, in the family business that traveled across Mexico.
His uncle Heriberto Febles Olvera taught him to fight for a very practical reason: someone had to defend the circus from gatecrashers who did not want to pay admission. Those acrobatic pirouettes ended up becoming his trademark in the ring, the gesture that earned him the nickname ‘El Maromero’ and that the public never forgot.
He made his professional debut in 1984 in Sonora with a technical knockout, and four years later, on August 4, 1988 in Mexicali, he knocked down American Calvin Grove three times to claim the FIB world featherweight title. He defended that belt 15 times. And in one of his most memorable fights, he entered the ring dressed as a bride, garter included, before taking it off in the ring in front of everyone. He was never just a boxer: he was a showman with gloves.
