Complex sentence: Born in Lawton Batista, Havana, Cuba in 1924, he was orphaned by age 7 but made a living selling vegetables and gaining a reputation as a sportsman, being proficient at baseball and boxing.
Split into simpler sentences: Born in Lawton Batista, Havana, Cuba in 1924, he was orphaned by age 7 but made a living selling vegetables. Peraza gained a reputation as a sportsman, and became proficient at baseball and boxing.