1,000th Post: The Greatest Filipino Fighters

[THRILLAinmanila]

For the THRILLAinMANILA/Asian Storm's 1,000th post, he'd like to share with you some history on the 3 Filipino Boxing Greats. Its not all Pacquiao for the Philippines.

Two of them have been enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame (Pancho Villa and Flash Elorde), while the other, Ceferino Garcia is a prime candidate for enshrinement soon (he has been enshrined only in the World Boxing Hall Of Fame).

Pancho Villa (Francisco Guilledo)-(Flyweight/ Bantamweight) 105-73(22 KOs)-5-4
- Considered by many as the Greatest Asian
Fighter in History
- The First Asian World Champion
- Also regarded as the Greatest Flyweight
of the century

Won the world flyweight title from Jimmy Wilde at the Polo Grounds in 1923. Wilde had only two losses going into the fight.

Was testing the waters in the Bantamweight division when he died.
Died at the age of 23, soon after facing Jimmy McLarnin with a swollen jaw, an infected tooth having been extracted just hours before he climbed the ring.

Gabriel "Flash" Elorde (Feather/Jr. Light/ Light) 117 - 88 (33 KOs)-27- 2

Acknowledged as the first, widely recognized, Jr. Lightweight world title holder (the division had just been created) after trashing Harold Gomes.

Had failed campaigns in the featherweight division, but can look back to a win over the immortal Sandy Saddler by points in a non-title fight in Manila (Saddler subsequently evened the score by KO'ing Elorde in a title bout in NY).

Went up to Lightweight --even as he held on to the Jr. Light title-- to face Carlos Ortiz but was KOd. He went back down to Jr. Light; then not too long after, lost the title.

His multiple meetings with Tirou Kosaka of Japan for the Oriental Lightweight crown were sagas many classify as equal to those of any Asian boxing rivalries. Elorde won each of those meetings.

Ceferino Garcia (welterweight/ middleweight) 100 wins (65 KOs), 27 losses, 9 draws.
Memorable fights: Won the World Middleweight crown from Fred Apostoli on Oct 2, 1939 in Madison Square Garden via a bolo punch in the 7th round. Lost a controversial decision to and also held the immortal Henry Armstrong to a draw., in two encounters. (for the World Welterweight title in 1938 and the World Middleweight title in 1940) Credited with inventing the "Bolo Punch", now illegal.

Some in the New York press speculated at the time that were it not for the presence of Armstrong, Garcia would have been the main force at welterweight.

Garcia also met the great Barney Ross and lost a close decision.


Other Filipino fighters worthy of note:
1. Luisito "Lindol" Espinosa - Former WBC Featherweight Champion
2. Gerry Penalosa - Comebacking former WBC Superflyweight Champion
3. Dodie Boy Penalosa - Former IBF Flyweight Champion
4. Rolando "The Guns Of" Navarette - Former IBF Jr. Lightweight Champion


Cheers !

[grayfist]

Congratulations buddy! 1,000th post!!!

By the way, I'm surprised why Garcia has not been enshrined. The only two who derailed his attempts at the World Welterweight title were Henry Armstrong and Barney Ross-- both now outstanding denizens at Canastota! Garcia held the NYSAC version of the title for a long time! Armstrong's win enabled him to make the claim of holding three world titles in three divisions, SIMULTAENOUSLY! A feat not achieved before or since! There are many who argue that Armstrong was even greater than Robinson in the all-time list! (I won't get into that fray). Armstrong later met Garcia again for a "world" title that was recognized only in the state of California. The second meeting ended in a draw. Holding an Armstrong to a draw, and losing by close decision?! That doesn't get you into the IBHF?

After Ross and ARmstrong, Garcia was never given another shot at the world crown, though as I can recall, he kept on winning!

Garcia even has a better record than a number of those enshrined in Canastota, whether one measures W-L or KOs.

With regard Pancho Villa, that little fella has some work ethic! In the year that he won the title from Jimmy Wilde he had 20 fights! Yes, all in one year! He had 9 before meeting Wilde and then 10 after! He had similar years before or after becoming champion! Because he was not much of a puncher, he had to go the full route often! Notheless, it seems that fighting was just another day at the office! WoW!!!

[THRILLAinmanila]

Congratulations buddy! 1,000th post!!!

By the way, I'm surprised why Garcia has not been enshrined. The only two who derailed his attempts at the World Welterweight title were Henry Armstrong and Barney Ross-- both now outstanding denizens at Canastota! Garcia held the NYSAC version of the title for a long time! Armstrong's win enabled him to make the claim of holding three world titles in three divisions, SIMULTAENOUSLY! A feat not achieved before or since! There are many who argue that Armstrong was even greater than Robinson in the all-time list! (I won't get into that fray). Armstrong later met Garcia again for a "world" title that was recognized only in the state of California. The second meeting ended in a draw. Holding an Armstrong to a draw, and losing by close decision?! That doesn't get you into the IBHF?


After Ross and ARmstrong, Garcia was never given another shot at the world crown, though as I can recall, he kept on winning!

Garcia even has a better record than a number of those enshrined in Canastota, whether one measures W-L or KOs.

With regard Pancho Villa, that little fella has some work ethic! In the year that he won the title from Jimmy Wilde he had 20 fights! Yes, all in one year! He had 9 before meeting Wilde and then 10 after! He had similar years before or after becoming champion! Because he was not much of a puncher, he had to go the full route often! Notheless, it seems that fighting was just another day at the office! WoW!!!

Thanks buddy ! Yup, Garcia's induction has been long delayed.
last time the Ring ****zine editor was here this year (his name escapes me right now), he confirmed that Garcia most probably be inducted soon '

[THRILLAinmanila]

THE LEGEND OF Gabriel "Flash" Elorde
- From the International Boxing Hall of Fame Annals

Born: March 22, 1935
Died: Jan. 2, 1985
Total Bouts: 117
Won: 88
Lost: 27
Drew: 2
KOs: 33
Induction: 1993


GABRIEL "FLASH" Elorde is one of the greatest fighters to ever come out of the Asia-Pacific region. Every year from 1952 to '67 he was involved in a national, regional or world title bout. Elorde, who turned pro in 1951 at age 16, had his first 11 fights in his hometown of Cebu, Philippines, winning 10 and suffering one kayo loss.
He branched out the following year and continued his success, eventually winning the national bantamweight title in Manila then, traveling to Tokyo, where he won the Oriental bantamweight crown via 12-round decision from Hiroshi Horiguchi. In 1953, he lost a bid for the national featherweight crown, dropping a 12-round decision to Larry Bataan in Manila and later dropped a 12-round verdict to Japanese junior lightweight champ Masashi Akiyama in Tokyo.

His quest for success at higher weights finally bore fruit in 1954. After dropping another 12-round nod, this time to Shigeji Kaneko, for the Oriental 126-pound belt, he beat Tommy Romulo in Manila to win the Philippines junior lightweight crown. Despite losing the national title in 1955, he surprised everyone when he outpointed reigning featherweight king Sandy Saddler over 10 rounds in a non-title fight in Manila.

With his newly won status as a world-ranked fighter Elorde traveled to San Francisco in Jan. 1956 for a rematch against Saddler, this time with the title on the line. The challenger fought brilliantly, but a cut over his eye forced the bout to be stopped in the 13th round, with Elorde ahead on the judges cards. It was also Saddler's last title defense.

Although Elorde didn't get another title shot for the rest of the decade, he remained a ranked contender and eventually won national and regional titles as a lightweight. In March 1960, he won the world junior lightweight title with a seventh-round stoppage of Harold Gomes in Quezon City, in the Phillipines.

Over the next eight years he had the most prolific reign at the weight. He had 10 successful defenses and twice pushed Carloz Ortiz to the 14th round in a bid to win the lightweight belt from the future Hall-of-Famer.

Elorde's fall began in June of 1966 when he lost the Oriental lightweight title to Yoshiaki Numata via 12-round verdict. A year later, Numata relieved Elorde of the world 130-pound crown with a 15-round points verdict.

Elorde fought and lost his next fight. He was inactive for a year-and-half before resuming his career, but retired for good after winning just six of 10 bouts.

[THRILLAinmanila]

The Legend of Pancho Villa
- From the International Boxing Hall of Fame Annals

Born: Aug. 1, 1901
Died: July 14, 1925
Total Bouts: 105
Won: 73
Lost: 5
Drew: 4
KOs: 22
No Decisions: 23
Induction: 1994


Pancho Villa is considered by many to be the greatest Asian fighter in boxing history. Just over five feet tall, Villa was explosive and unrelenting in the ring. He had fought 105 times, sometimes with as little as a week between bouts, by the time of his death at age 24. Born Francisco Guilledo on the island of Panay in the Philippines, Villa often fought with other boys in his village. His reputation with his fists brought him to the attention of promoter Frank Churchill in Manila. Impressed with the then-80-pound fighter, Churchill began handling Villa and, reportedly, named him after the famous Mexican bandit.
Villa fought exclusively in the Philippines from 1919 through April 1922, often facing much larger men. In that time, he lost only three fights and captured two Filipino titles. In 1922, Churchill took Villa to the United States. The young Filipino fought two no-decision bouts in New Jersey, losing-according to the newspapers-to Abe Goldstein and Frankie Genaro. The America press and public were at first slow to take notice of Villa. Churchill had difficulty arranging fights in major venues until, for almost no money, he got Villa and another Filipino, Elino Flores, on a card at Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Each fighter won his bout, and the crowd gave Villa a standing ovation.

Three months after his arrival in the U.S., Villa knocked out Johnny Buff in eleven rounds to win the American flyweight title. Genaro took the title back in 1923 in a 15-round decision that most observers believed belonged to Villa. Meanwhile, British flyweight champion Jimmy Wilde had come to New York seeking the world title. Although Genaro was a likely opponent, the now wildly popular Villa was considered a better draw. In the match at New York's Polo Grounds, Villa displayed his relentless, attacking style, peppering Wilde with punches from both hands. In the seventh round, Villa battered Wilde to a state of helplessness, ending the fight and Wilde's career.

Although a proposed rematch with Genaro never took place, Villa defended his title several times in the U.S. and the Philippines. Villa fought in a non-title bout with Jimmy McLarnin on July 4, 1925 in Oakland. Weak from the recent extraction of a wisdom tooth, Villa lost the decision. It was to be his last fight. Another visit to the dentist resulted in the discovery of an infection and the extraction of three more teeth. Villa ignored the dentist's instructions to rest and return for a follow-up visit, and instead indulged in a week-long party. The infection worsened, and by the time Villa's trainer, Whitey Ekwert, discovered the fighter's distress and rushed him to the hospital, it was too late. Villa died in the hospital of Ludwig's Angina, an infection of the throat cavity.

[THRILLAinmanila]

The Ceferino Garcia Story

Ceferino Garcia, the boxer, was the eldest child of Fortunato (Porto) Garcia and Pascuala Pieras. The couple bore six children, but only five grew up to adulthood. The second child was Francisco, the third was Leona, and the fourth was Rufina. Man Ambing was the fifth and deemed the youngest, a younger sister having died in childhood. He is six years younger than the champion boxer.

Ceferino was baptized Cipriano and nicknamed Predo. He typified the poor, less schooled, and rural-bred Filipino who aspired for wealth and fame through the boxing arena.

Predo did not complete his Grade I studies in Barrio Caraycaray, Naval, where he was born and grew up to adolescence. This literacy deficiency would later disqualify him from enlisting in the US Navy, the other avenue for peasant escape from poverty in the 1930s. He seemed to have been drawn early to ********, hantak (head-or-tail betting game, using three old one-centavo coins) being his mania. He was also good in the pool table.

And in street boxing matches. By age 15, when Predo left home for good, he was so feared that nobody would pick a fistfight with him in the neighborhood or in the poblacion.

But Predo was a good blacksmith, the obvious favorite among the three sons of Porto. It did not take long to finish a bolo from his powerful blows with the sledge hammer. Man Ambing idolized his brother for this.

I asked Man Ambing about extant pictures of his brother. He had none. Instead, he ran inside the house from where he got and then showed me his picture as a young man. He told me he had similar facial features with Predo, who was tall, lean but husky, and with thin wrists. The photograph had the typical Garcia features, memorialized in a sketch of his great grand-uncle, the priest who established Naval as a town in the 1860s.



To Boxing Fame

Predo left home with a heavy heart. The cause was believed to be his spurned love proposal to the local girl of his fancy, who supposedly dismissed him for his gambler’s ways.

He joined the master baker of the local bakery on a trip to Cebu City, where he was introduced to some boxing promoter and started his professional boxing career. He had not returned home since he left, for which he was sorely missed by many of his contemporaries.

Man Ambing recalled that his brother, having assumed the boxing name Ceferino, became a prominent boxer around 1936 or 1937, first in Cebu and then in Manila. He became famous for the dreaded "bolo punch," of which he was the recognized inventor.

In 1938, Ceferino traveled to the United States to take a crack at the world middleweight crown. He succeeded in his quest. During the same year, he provided the country’s boxing spectacle of the 1930s when he successfully defended his title by beating the (white) American challenger, Glen Lee, at the Rizal Track-Football Stadium. He was assisted in this match by the famous Jack Dempsey.

Afterwards, he returned to the US, where he probably lost his crown, and did not come back to the Philippines.

The "bolo punch" presumably assured Garcia’s place in the Boxing Hall of Fame. Two other Filipino boxers had been inducted to this august Hall: Pancho Villa and Flash Elorde. Primo Hotricano told me that Garcia’s boxing feats were once featured in an article, perhaps in the Philippines Free Press.

[phallus]

cong**** on the 1000th post!!! i've seen Pancho Villa on film KTFO Johnny Buff, he looks impressive, and fast

[THRILLAinmanila]

cong**** on the 1000th post!!! i've seen Pancho Villa on film KTFO Johnny Buff, he looks impressive, and fast

thanks bro. Yup he was the first Asian boxing great,...

[Sir_Jose]

Congratulations on 1000

and Big Ups to all the Pinoy fighters. I know the Mexicans and Filipinos(spelling) have had there differences before, but I am gald to see we have moved on from that and can have boxing conversations like normal human beings.

[THRILLAinmanila]

Congratulations on 1000

and Big Ups to all the Pinoy fighters. I know the Mexicans and Filipinos(spelling) have had there differences before, but I am gald to see we have moved on from that and have boxing conversations like normal human beings.

thanks man. That's what's nice about this site. The posters are civilized and have matured a lot VIVA MEXICAN Fighters and MABUHAY ANG MGA PINOY !