I'm curious if anyone can direct me to a report about the "near riot" in Milan after this Lightweight draw in 1956. I'm highly interested in Orlando Zulueta for an unusual reason.
Today my next door neighbor, a man in his 60s who used to own a frame shop in San Francisco, put some old frames and paintings he had had in his basement for years out on the street. He gave me a 1950s painting of the sort that tourists buy...sort of a modern floating musical instrument collage. On the back it says "Italy Milano via Moce Biancai [The street name may be wrong] 28-1-58. To Orlando Zulueta with good friendship, Gianpaolo. Is a gift." I looked up Orlando Zulueta on the internet, and found that he was a boxer primarily in the 1960s. You all are probably saying "Well, duh!" at this point, but I know very little about boxing.
Anyhow, I learned that Zulueta was from Cuba and not Italy, where the painting is from, so I almost gave up trying to research him. BUT then I found this site and saw that he fought Mario Vecchiatto in Milan on February 1st, 1958...four days before the painting was dedicated to an "Orlando Zulueta".
I then asked myself, "Why would this be a gift? Why would the artist care who Zulueta was, really?" And again on this site I found that nearly two years before Zulueta had fought for the European Featherweight title in Milan and taken a draw with Fred Galiana. As well, the United Press reported that there was a near riot due to the decision. Which leads me to believe that the artist could know and admire the boxer enough to give him a free painting.
What I am looking for is any article or archive that may detail the near riot after the Galiana bout. Also, I would love to find any lead where I could possibly locate info about on what day Zulueta came to Milan for his second fight. Was he in Milan on the day that the picture was given to an "Orlando Zulueta"?
I am also curious to see what other posters think the odds of this being a painting that Zulueta actually owned. I don't know how it ended up here in San Francisco, but I did find that Zulueta fought bouts in the Bay Area after 1956.
Sorry about this long-winded post. I hope that you all find it interesting.
Alene