The
Tampa-born
physician,
author and
painter known to
boxing fans as
Muhammad Ali's "
Fight Doctor".
Ferdie Pacheco grew up in Ybor City and Tampa, and its influence pervades his work as does rum a Cuba Libre. His autobiography/history Ybor City Chronicles: A Memoir brings the old city to life in words, while his paintings do the same in rich and sometimes shocking colors.
According to ferdiepacheco.com, he's alive and well and living in Miami with his wife Lusita Sevilla. His paintings are on display in a gallery in Tampa's Centro Ybor and in the library of the University of South Florida, which also holds his personal papers in an archive.