Carlos Palomino knew he would have trouble getting through the part of his speech when he got to his parents.
"The two people that inspired me the most in my life were my mother and my father," Palomino said as tears welled up in his eyes. "This is going to be hard."
Palomino's effort to keep from crying was one of several emotional moments during the International Boxing Hall of Fame's 15th annual induction ceremony yesterday.
His parents, Pablo and Maria, are deceased. Palomino said he had prepared himself for the moment when he would talk about his parents.
His mother and father moved their family from San Luis de Colorado, Mexico to Southern California when Carlos was just 10 years old.
"I didn't want to go," Palomino said. "We left behind all of our friends and moved to a different country where we didn't speak the language."
Pablo and Maria raised 11 children in an area rife with drugs and gangs, Palomino said in his acceptance speech.
"My dad was my strength and my mother was my heart," Carlos said.
Palomino's emotions took over a second and wholly unexpected time when he started to thank his own children.
"Thank you for understanding that your father is a dreamer.
"Sometimes when your father is a dreamer, the family suffers."
Later, Palomino said he was surprised he got so emotional when talking about his son and two daughters.
"I knew it was going to happen when I was talking about my mother and father," he said. "I didn't think it was going to happen with my kids. They're right here with me."
Palomino said the fact that his kids; all three of whom have graduated from or are currently attending college, turned out all right despite his frequent absences during his fighting career hit him as he stood up on the stage with a host a boxing legends.
Amidst rainstorms and applause, Palomino joined six others in the Hall of Fame's inductees. The rest of the 2004 class included Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Azumah Nelson, Daniel Zaragoza, Philadelphia promoter J Russell Peltz, legendary writer W.C. Heinz and referee Stanley Christodoulou.
"This is an amazing victory," Zaragoza said, his oldest son translating for him. "This is a certain victory. Not even death can take this away from me. There is no more defeat."
Qawi, known as Dwight Braxton until his conversion to Islam in 1982, said his induction was "closure" for his boxing career, which he extended with a couple comebacks.
"Too many times fighters hold onto the past. A lot of athletes do that," Qawi said.
"I really need this in my life. I need this ... to say to me it's over. You did your best. You did all you could do. You gave it what you had. Then move on," he told the crowd.
Palomino wows them at Canastota
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jamesmcdonnell
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