SI Vault Cradle of Champions Clive Gammon November 24, 1980
Fighting is a way of life in Palenque, Colombia, a village of
3,000 whose heritage now includes three world champions Decrease
font Decrease font Enlarge font Enlarge font November 24, 1980
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Issue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  Between trophy and poem is a connection
that goes back almost four centuries. The history of Palenque,
scarcely known outside Colombia, perhaps not even outside
Bolivar Province, is that of a long battle for freedom
unparalleled in the Americas.  But consider a smaller story
first. In the last decade, from this community of fewer than
3,000 people have come three world boxing champions: Kid Pambelé
himself; Rodrigo Valdes, who held both the WBC and WBA
middleweight crowns at various times between 1974 and 1978; and
Ricardo Cardona, who won the WBA junior featherweight title in
1976, lost it this year to Leo Randolph, and is in training to
regain it.  How, from the dust and povert