José María Gatica (25 May 1925 – 12 November 1963) was an Argentine boxer, one of Argentina's most famous sports idols.

[1] However, Gatica's boxing career was surrounded in controversy due to his support of Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón.

Fighting for the Central Club Cabins, Gatica won the Argentine Golden Gloves and decided to embark on a professional career.

His exciting style soon caught on to the general public, and José María Gatica became the biggest sports idol in Argentina.

His first wife was Ema Fernández and they had a daughter, María Eva, named after Argentina's First Lady, Evita Perón.

Called "El Mono" by his thousands of fans, Gatica returned to Argentina to fight a series of exciting brawls with his Argentinian arch-rival Alfredo Prada.

Gatica was forced to retire by the Federación Argentina de Boxeo due to his support of Perón, and his boxing license was revoked for life.

The boxer who walked the streets with a lion cub, wore silk shirts, and diamond rings, was now broke.

At the age of 38, José María Gatica was killed in the District of Avellaneda, on Herrera Street, when he was run over by a bus as he was leaving the Club Atlético Independiente.