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Gone before their time
This article is about great boxers or potentially great boxers that died before reaching their prime.
I'm not going to focus on boxers that died in the ring or had ring related deaths but boxers that have died in tragic circumstances outside the ring.
Francisco Guilledo, more widely known as Pancho Villa, adopted the name from Mexico's famous revolutionary. Standing only 5'1 ft and never weighing over 116 lbs Villa was the first Filipino and Asian world champion.
Only after after a couple of years of turning pro, but with around 60 fights, Villa took Wales greatest fighter Jimmy Wilde. Wilde was at the end of his career and was inactive for two years but Wilde took the fight to Villa which was incredibly risky against the quicker, younger and stronger Villa. This fight was fought at an unbelievable pace and in the 7th round after a devastating three punch combination ending in with a vicious left hook Wilde fell face first into the canvas and was counted out.
Villa's last fight was against another great, and arguably Canada's greatest fighter Jimmy McLarnin. Villa took this fight despite advice from his physicians that he should not fight because of an infected tooth. But Villa did not want to disappoint his fans and entered the ring with a swollen jaw. McLarnin who had a 6 lbs weight advantage won a pts decision after 10 rounds.
Villa died shortly after the this bout, while undergoing an operation for an infected throat they developed from infected teeth that caused blood poisoning. But his widow blames his death on a gambling syndicate that conspired to murder the champion because of big losses in the Jimmy McLarnin, Villa was a heavy favourite to win this fight.
Villa was also one of the cleanest fighters of the time and used to go to a neutral corner after he knocked down his opponent before that rule was brought in.
Villa with a record of 80(23)-5(0)-3 at age of 23, never KOed, the Flyweight World champion was a national hero and could have achieved so much more if his life was not cut so tragically short.
Next up is Salvidor Sanchez.
Could Sanchez have been the greatest ever featherweight boxer as well as the greatest Mexican boxer if his life was not cut short?
Power, speed, great chin, counter punching, Sanchez had it all he had some great wins over Juan Laporte, Danny Lopez and Wilfredo Gómez but his greatest win was his last, a war against the great Azumah Nelson. The fight became a slugfest and fought at a blistering pace. Sanchez put Nelson down in the 7th but rose and continued with the war in a phone box. In the 15th Sanchez drops a tired Nelson, on a left hook, again and though he bounces back up he looks to be on very shaky legs and Sanchez pounces on Nelsons and the ref calls the fight to a halt.
Salvador Sanchez with a record of 44(32)-1(0)-1 would die shortly after this fight at the age of 23 when his Porsche was hit head-on by a truck as he attempted to pass another truck in front of him. Another tragic lost to boxing.
My third choice maybe is a bit controversial, because he is not in the same league as the other two and mainly because of the type of man he was.
Edwin Valero was a boxer with huge power and scored 18 1st round knockouts in his first 18 fights. He won all his fights by KO, 27 wins 27 KOs. Valero prior from turning pro fractured his skull in a motorcycle accident and was subsequently effectively banned in 2004 from fighting in the US after failing a MRI scan. They are no stellar names on Valero's record but he is a two time world champion, winning titles at superfeather and at lightweight. He was often seen a just a KO artist because of string of early KOs but is his last fight against DeMarco he showed his boxing skills, feinting, defense, fast hands and a good jab, in which was a great display.
On April 19, 2010 at the age of 28 Edwin Valero committed suicide in his jail cell after confessing to his wife's murder and it became clear what kind of man he was. A lost to boxing but not to the world.
Any other boxers that died with still having a lot to offer boxing?
How would their boxing career's would have developed if they would have died so tragically young?
I'm not going to focus on boxers that died in the ring or had ring related deaths but boxers that have died in tragic circumstances outside the ring.
Francisco Guilledo, more widely known as Pancho Villa, adopted the name from Mexico's famous revolutionary. Standing only 5'1 ft and never weighing over 116 lbs Villa was the first Filipino and Asian world champion.
Only after after a couple of years of turning pro, but with around 60 fights, Villa took Wales greatest fighter Jimmy Wilde. Wilde was at the end of his career and was inactive for two years but Wilde took the fight to Villa which was incredibly risky against the quicker, younger and stronger Villa. This fight was fought at an unbelievable pace and in the 7th round after a devastating three punch combination ending in with a vicious left hook Wilde fell face first into the canvas and was counted out.
Villa's last fight was against another great, and arguably Canada's greatest fighter Jimmy McLarnin. Villa took this fight despite advice from his physicians that he should not fight because of an infected tooth. But Villa did not want to disappoint his fans and entered the ring with a swollen jaw. McLarnin who had a 6 lbs weight advantage won a pts decision after 10 rounds.
Villa died shortly after the this bout, while undergoing an operation for an infected throat they developed from infected teeth that caused blood poisoning. But his widow blames his death on a gambling syndicate that conspired to murder the champion because of big losses in the Jimmy McLarnin, Villa was a heavy favourite to win this fight.
Villa was also one of the cleanest fighters of the time and used to go to a neutral corner after he knocked down his opponent before that rule was brought in.
Villa with a record of 80(23)-5(0)-3 at age of 23, never KOed, the Flyweight World champion was a national hero and could have achieved so much more if his life was not cut so tragically short.
Next up is Salvidor Sanchez.
Could Sanchez have been the greatest ever featherweight boxer as well as the greatest Mexican boxer if his life was not cut short?
Power, speed, great chin, counter punching, Sanchez had it all he had some great wins over Juan Laporte, Danny Lopez and Wilfredo Gómez but his greatest win was his last, a war against the great Azumah Nelson. The fight became a slugfest and fought at a blistering pace. Sanchez put Nelson down in the 7th but rose and continued with the war in a phone box. In the 15th Sanchez drops a tired Nelson, on a left hook, again and though he bounces back up he looks to be on very shaky legs and Sanchez pounces on Nelsons and the ref calls the fight to a halt.
Salvador Sanchez with a record of 44(32)-1(0)-1 would die shortly after this fight at the age of 23 when his Porsche was hit head-on by a truck as he attempted to pass another truck in front of him. Another tragic lost to boxing.
My third choice maybe is a bit controversial, because he is not in the same league as the other two and mainly because of the type of man he was.
Edwin Valero was a boxer with huge power and scored 18 1st round knockouts in his first 18 fights. He won all his fights by KO, 27 wins 27 KOs. Valero prior from turning pro fractured his skull in a motorcycle accident and was subsequently effectively banned in 2004 from fighting in the US after failing a MRI scan. They are no stellar names on Valero's record but he is a two time world champion, winning titles at superfeather and at lightweight. He was often seen a just a KO artist because of string of early KOs but is his last fight against DeMarco he showed his boxing skills, feinting, defense, fast hands and a good jab, in which was a great display.
On April 19, 2010 at the age of 28 Edwin Valero committed suicide in his jail cell after confessing to his wife's murder and it became clear what kind of man he was. A lost to boxing but not to the world.
Any other boxers that died with still having a lot to offer boxing?
How would their boxing career's would have developed if they would have died so tragically young?
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