In Chivarreto, home to 16,000 people, there are no boxing gyms and no professional boxers. Hearing rumors of the “Guatemalan boxing town,” you could be forgiven for thinking that you would find a sporting mecca in the highlands. It is a curious place for other reasons, though. Home to a variety of indigenous Mayan groups, the area is largely agricultural, and Chivarreto is no different in that regard. The festival takes place every year on Good Friday in the mountains north of Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in the country. But how did the tradition come about and what is it that motivates fighters like Gox to step into the ring? Photo by Oliver de Ros for Remezcla In this remote corner of Central America, you box without gloves. “Vamos Chivarreto,” shouts the victorious Gox, 24, holding his battered knuckles aloft in celebration. The fight doesn’t last long, but the intense effort makes the boxers’ blood-spattered chests heave with exertion as they descend from the ring. It’s not Gox is fighting at a bare-knuckle boxing festival in the town of Chivarreto, Guatemala. Blood streaming, fists flying, it sounds like it could be a bar brawl.
The dull crunch of breaking cartilage cuts through the noise as fist meets nose. “Smash him!” shouts the crowd as the pair circle each other, arms swinging wildly. His gaze is fixed on the face that bobs and weaves in front of him. With his focused gaze, he looks like he could be lining up a free throw, but Gox isn’t shooting hoops. Santos Gox squints into the beating sun, eyes narrowing in concentration as he psyches himself up for the task at hand.
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