[Ed. Note: The following is a superb piece on the history of Cleto-Reyes boxing gloves from freelance writer Michael Mayes special to North Texas Fisticuffs. Enjoy!]
In this weekend’s super fight there were few surprises. Youth and speed triumphed over age and experience, Manny Pacquiao remained the pound-for-pound champion of boxing and fans continued to ask “What about Mayweather?”
There was one subtle difference few may have noticed, however. It was an event that hasn’t often happened in a major US title fight in over a year. It was the first US super fight in almost 2 years where both fighters were not wearing the same Cleto Reyes® boxing gloves (www.cletoreyes.com.mx).
Pacquiao, who somewhat infamously praised them on Youtube, wore bright yellow Reyes gloves Saturday in his lopsided victory of Mosley. The choice in color was a show of solidarity for his country, and a bright blur all night for Sugar Shane. While Manny can be seen wearing a number of gloves while sparring or training, the gloves he’s worn to capture or defend titles has consistently been Reyes.
An important distinction is to be made concerning choice of gloves. Considering professional sports’ insatiable demand for endorsement opportunities on trunks, the ring and the arena, you would think elite fighters are all tied to glove brands through endorsement.
This is true of Everlast®, Grant®, Ringside® and other glove makers. Not so for Reyes gloves. Reyes does not pay big fees for fighters to wear them.
So why are the world’s biggest stars wearing Reyes gloves?
“Out of conviction,” says Alberto Reyes Perez, CEO and Patron of Industria Reyes in Mexico city. “We certainly give products to fighters and ask them to evaluate them. In the end, however, fighters around the world wear Reyes because of how our gloves are made. All of them made in Mexico.”
Reyes says he sees a conflict of interest in glove endorsements. With over half a dozen leading brands, the potential for fighters to gain some perceived advantage, even if only in negotiations for fights, is a concern.
A growing grass roots following for Reyes products in the US is led by young up-and-comers who see them used in the biggest fights, Hispanic fighters who see Mexican stars wearing them, and those who see Reyes gloves as simply the finest gloves in the world.
The Competition-La Competencia
Shane Mosley wore custom gold and black Grant gloves Saturday. Grant boasts a number of champions who endorse their gloves including Heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitcho and Roy Jones, Jr.
Everlast, who has been conspicuously absent in super fights was present in the undercard. Like Grant, Everast openly promotes their fighter endorsements (Andre Berto, release 2009). Endorsed fighters typically promote the whole line of Everlast equipment and clothing, but always agree to use their gloves.
Like many people, Everlast was the first boxing or sports brand I wanted to actually wear, long before Nike flooded the market. It meant boxing, gritty gyms where the term “athlete” most applied. Recently a Fox network drama series, the respectable “Lights Out,” was clearly paid a great deal of money by Everlast for product placement. I suspect, however, that the costume designer for the show was deliberate in his or her use of the brand, an attempt to give Patrick “Lights Out” Leary that authentic boxer feel.
But why is Everlast (www.everlast.com), the long-reigning boxing brand, rarely seen in today’s biggest fights? Well it is, sometimes. See Friday Night Fights on ESPN and Solo Boxeo on Univision. Everlast is everywhere and well respected in amateur and professional circles alike. It’s chased by worthy opponents led by Grant and followed by, Lonsdale and Ringside, brands beginning to grow thanks to the evolution of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and the larger marketing budgets of vertically-integrated sporting goods manufacturers.
The Gloves-Los Guantes
Reyes gloves proudly and twice display the words “Hecho en Mexico.” It’s a statement that carries some weight in the US, were the growing Hispanic population boasts a rich boxing tradition. The name REYES is branded largest across the top portion of the glove, above it much smaller, the name Cleto their founder.
Most importantly, you’ll find the word “professional.” These are the tools of professional elite boxers, designed to protect the hands not the fighters. They are 8, 10 or 12oz of leather, lace and padding for the fastest hands on earth.
Of the 2,000 pairs made each month by Reyes, each is made by hand with personal pride and strict quality standards in a suburb just Northeast of Mexico City. The result is a beautiful, slender cowhide glove, favored by heavy-handed hitters and one many fighters will swear is lighter despite being the same 8, 10, 12 or 16 oz. In boxing speed kills and these mitten-like gloves have a growing reputation for delivering power and slipping through defenses.
History-La Historia
In 1932 Cleto Reyes Castro went to work in saddlery at age 12, making baseball equipment. At 18 he fought in his first and only amateur fight. It is said the fight was so spectacular that, in the Mexican tradition, watchers “threw coins to show their appreciation.”
It was also in that fight that Reyes learned an important lesson in boxing: you get hit back. The fight was so ferocious he decided his best opportunity lie in mending gloves rather than wielding them, and to utilize the skills he had learned working with leather.
The first championship fight featuring Reyes gloves featured Juan Zurita and Ike Williams, April 18, 1945 in Circo De Toros, Mexico City. They fought for the World Boxing Association World Lightweight title. Williams, having won 5 of his last six, took the title from champion Zurita by TKO.
In the 1970s, Cleto’s son, Alberto Reyes Perez revitalized the company, initiated branding strategies and created a vision of a global company. “A majority of our products are exported to the US, Japan, Europe and many other countries,” said Reyes, “Each pair is made in our factory. We have been approached to manufacture them in other countries including India and the US but want to maintain product integrity.”
In 2005 Cleto Reyes Castro was posthumously awarded the Presidential Award from the boxing Hall of Fame. In 2008, Alberto Reyes Perez was inducted into the Hall of Fame as well. Each man provided his own contribution to boxing history and Mexican culture.
Bright Future-Un Futuro Brillante
In 2011 Industria Reyes plans to open its first warehouse in San Diego, CA. The move will increase product availability in the growing US market. Distributors welcome the effort to meet demand and remain competitive in the high-end professional equipment market.
“We continuously develop new products,” said Elizabeth Reyes Aleman, Alberto Reyes’ daughter and spokesperson for the company. “We plan to announce an exciting new glove in July 2011 in our continuing effort to make the best boxing equipment in the world.”
Consider again that fighters such as Roberto Duran, Oscar de la Hoya, Larry Holmes, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Nonito Donaire have all worn Reyes gloves without the persuasion of sponsorship. Competing glove manufacturers have long offered endorsements, fighters often use other gloves to spar with, and still a majority use Reyes gloves in multi-million dollar title fights.
With Reyes gloves’ domination in elite fights, their launch of new products and the resurgence in popularity of fight equipment thanks to MMA and boxing events like this weekend, the future looks bright. Reyes seems content to quietly grow its list of champions, including Sergio Martinez, Victor Ortiz, Ninito Donaire—even Money Mayweather, all who wear Reyes gloves out of conviction to quality not just a pay day.
Michael Mayes is a writer in Texas. A marketer, poet, author and musician, he works with amateur and professional boxers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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