By Adam Swift
Heavyweight boxing champion John Ruiz and legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea are two of Chelsea’s most famous native sons.
District 6 City Councilor Giovanni Recupero wants to make sure Ruiz and Corea are both properly honored in their hometown with statues. There is a park named after Ruiz, and a block named after Corea in the city. In addition, the city recently put out a call for artists to create a mural under the Tobin Bridge in honor of Corea, a man who won more than two dozen Grammy awards during his lifetime.
Ruiz was a two-time WBA heavyweight boxing champion, and the first Latino boxer to hold a heavyweight championship belt.
Recupero noted that currently, the city only has a metal sign honoring the champ in John Ruiz Park.
“I think that it is time that we put a statue for the first Latino heavyweight champion instead of a piece of metal; we only have a piece of metal in that park,” said Recupero.
The councilor notes that the Community Preservation Act sets aside money for historical projects, and that some of the money should be used to honor some of Chelsea’s historical figures.
“Every city I go into, it has a statue of a fighter made out of granite … why don’t you put a good statue if you’re going to use CPA money?” Recupero asked. “Put a statue where it belongs to a gentleman who was never ashamed to say he came from Chelsea. Give him his respect; don’t give him a piece of metal – give him a statue like Brockton did with (Marvelous Marvin) Hagler.”
Likewise, Recupero said the city should have a statue celebrating the life of Corea, and not just a small sign.
“We always have all kinds of money to give everything to everything,” he said. “Why don’t we recognize the actual people who come from our own city? Maybe people will come by and say, hey, that’s a statue of the guy that was a great jazz musician.”