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The History Of Cleto Reyes
Cleto Reyes Castro was born on April 26th, 1920 in Mexico City, in the midst of the reconstruction period after 10 years of revolutionary struggle. Because of the hard times, his family was facing, Cleto began to work at the age of 12 in a saddlery where baseball gear was manufactured.
In 1936 while he attended elementary school, his huge love for boxing was born as the “Peralvillo Cozumel Arena”, was in front of his school. In 1938, Cleto Reyes participated in an amateur fight, his performance was so outstanding that the public ended up throwing coins into the ring floor; however, the pounding was so hard that he was convinced not to fight again. He chose, instead, to mend the gloves he had used during the fight and this was the beginning of his career in glove manufacture.Subsequently, his gloves obtained the approval of the local boxing commission (COMBOX DF), and in 1945 the Cleto Reyes gloves were used in a world championship fight for the first time on “La Condesa Arena”, in the fight between the second Mexican Champion, Juan Zurita Vs Ike Williams.
This was a very relevant year in Don Cleto’s life since that was the year he decided to become independent, always counting on his wife and children’s support.In 1965, he had his first commercial representative in Los Angeles, California; and began distributing his products in the most important cities of the United States and some other countries.In 1970, during a time in which Don Cleto’s health was in delicate conditions, his son Alberto Reyes joined his father’s efforts with a strong entrepreneurial vision. In 1975 his son, decided to register CLETO REYES as a trademark and founded Industria Reyes S.A. de C.V. in 1979.
Nowadays, Cleto Reyes products have a prominent place in the international market and are exported to five different continents with the approval of the main world organisations. The company has received important recognition such as Mexico’s National Exports Award in 1994 (Granted annually by the Mexican Trade and Industry Department to distinguished Mexican Companies, and many others).
In the beginning, the need, later a great passion for boxing, and finally his dedication to his job were the factors that inspired Don Cleto Reyes Castro to devote his life to boxing.