MIAMI _ Ferdie Pacheco, famously known as "The Fight Doctor" for his role in guiding Muhammad Ali as his ringside physician, died in his sleep at his Baypoint, Miami home, his daughter Tina Louise Pacheco said.
The Ybor City native started a medical practice in Little Havana after earning his medical degree from the University of Miami. Later, he joined boxing trainer Angelo Dundee's corner at the famous 5th Street Gym.
There, he became intrinsically linked with Ali _ The Greatest.
In later years, Pacheco traded the world of boxing gloves, sweat and gyms for literary adventures. He became a noted painter and author of numerous books, including his memoirs, "Ybor City Chronicles." On canvas, he immortalized everyone from Ali to President Barack Obama.
"Art is what I do," Pacheco told the Miami Herald in 2009 at an exhibition of his works in Dania.
