[1] Santa's professional boxing career lasted until 1934, which he mostly spent in Portugal (1922–26, with a few fights later in 1929), Brazil (1926–28 and 1933–34), and the United States (1930–33) where he was widely popular with the Portuguese immigrants livings in southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

[1] In 1932, while fighting in the United States, Santa married the Portuguese American woman Mary Loreta de Oliveira.

[4] In 2003, he was posthumously awarded the Medal for Good Sports Services (Medalha de Bons Serviços Desportivos) by the Government of Portugal.

[5] Until Nikolay Valuev (2.14 m (7 ft 0 in)) became a professional boxer in 1993, Santa was the tallest heavyweight in boxing history.

He enjoyed a sizable reach advantage over most rivals, and when seen on fight footage, he seems like a towering giant compared to many heavyweights of his era, who were usually shorter than him.