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by Charles R. Saunders
SONAHR – Nova Scotia
January 13, 2011
Despite the decline in the quality of his recent opponents (including the latest, Shane Mosley), Manny Pacquiao’s spot in boxing’s Hall of Fame is already reserved. He continues to stand atop the pound-for-pound ratings, and he is often compared favorably with such all-time greats as Roberto Duran and Henry Armstrong.
He should also be compared with the outstanding fighters from the Philippines who preceded him. Filipino mitt-slingers have been at or near the top of the lower weight divisions since the early part of the twentieth century. Interestingly, Pacquiao’s career and titles span many of those divisions: from flyweight to junior middleweight.
So, how would Pacquiao fare in mythical matchups with the cream of his homeland’s fistic crop? I’ve picked five great Filipino fighters of the past to stack up against the Pac Man. These are speculations, not simulations. And I’m comparing the old-timers to the version of Pacquiao who fought in their weight divisions.
Here goes …
Pancho Villa … World flyweight champion, 1923-1925. Record: 80(23)-5(0)-3, plus 17 No Decisions.
Villa was the first boxing superstar of the Philippines. He was also a tragic figure, dying at the age of 23 after the extraction of an infected tooth. He stood only 5’1”, but he punched above his weight despite the small number of knockouts he scored. He was an accomplished veteran in his prime when the Grim Reaper took him. Pacquiao, in contrast, was basically a one-dimensional novice at flyweight. Even then, Pacquiao was a fearsome puncher. But with his vast edge in experience, the diminutive Villa would have schooled the young Pacquiao the same way Bernard Hopkins “educated” Kelly Pavlik.
Ceferino Garcia … NYSAC middleweight champion, 1939-1940. Record: 103(68)-27(5)-12
Yes, even in Boxing’s Golden Age, titles were sometimes split. The New York State Athletic Commission had a lot of clout in those days, and theirs was the version of middleweight championship that Garcia held briefly. Pacquiao holds the WBC junior-middleweight crown. That division didn’t exist in Garcia’s time, but Garcia often weighed in at less than 154 lb in middleweight contests, though he sometimes fought at well over 160. At 5’7”, he was about the same height as Pacquiao, but had a larger frame. The 32-year-old Pacquiao of today is still in his prime, with experience and savvy to complement his formidable punching power. Would that be enough to prevail against Garcia, who held his own with the likes of Henry Armstrong, Barney Ross, Glenn Lee and Fred Apostoli? Maybe. But Garcia would be a steep hill for the Pac Man to climb. Perhaps too steep.
Gabriel “Flash” Elorde … World junior-lightweight champion, 1960-1967. Record: 88(33)-27(4)-2.
Before Pacquiao came along, Flash Elorde was the most idolized Filipino ringman since Villa. Elorde’s long reign at junior-lightweight speaks for itself. But when Elorde tried his luck at lightweight, he became a flash-in-the-pan, getting knocked out twice by champion Carlos Ortiz. Pacquiao entered his prime as a junior lightweight. He won two out of three against Erik Morales at that weight. He also drubbed Marco Antonio Barrera twice, and fought to a draw and a disputed decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez. Elorde would have been hard-pressed to do as well in that company. And, despite the slick boxing skills that gave him his nickname, Flash would have been just as hard-pressed to keep Pacquiao away for 12 or 15 rounds. Sooner or later, Manny would lower the boom.
Ben Villaflor … WBA junior-lightweight champion, 1972-1972 and 1973-1976. Record: 54(31)-8(0)-7
In his day, Villaflor was described as a “buzzsaw” – a term that has also been mentioned in connection with Pacquiao. So a fight between these two at 130 lb would raise the roof even in an outdoor stadium. Pacquiao’s knockout percentage is much higher than Villaflor’s, but that could be misleading. As Mike Silver points out in his book The Arc of Boxing, one of the reasons boxers of the past had lower knockout percentages is that most of their opponents were skilled and seasoned enough to avoid getting stopped. Be that as it may, Pacquiao would have a puncher’s edge over Villaflor. And no one does “buzzsaw” better than the Pac Man. He may not have knocked Villaflor out. No one was able to stop Ben during his career. But Pacquiao would have outslugged him.
Luisito Espinoza … WBA Bantamweight champion, 1989-1991, WBC featherweight champion, 1995-1999. Record: 47(26)-13(7)-0
Espinoza was Pacquiao’s immediate predecessor as the flag-bearer of Filipino boxing. Like prime-time Pacquiao, Espinoza was an explosive boxer-puncher. During his featherweight title reign, he defeated the likes of Cesar Soto, Kennedy McKinney and Manuel Medina. At 118-126 lb, he was more accomplished than Pacquiao was when he fought in that weight range. Pacquiao relied on his hook and speed back then, and was certainly successful. But he had weaknesses that could be exploited. And Espinoza just might have been ringwise enough to outbox a Pacquiao who was still in the early stages of his career.
Not a bad record for Pacquiao. Some other Filipino warriors from the past who would have given him a great fight include Rolando Navarette, Small Montana, Little Dado, and the Penalosa brothers (Dodie and Gerry). For that matter, imagine Pacquiao versus current star Nonito Donaire at bantamweight. What a war that would be.
Pac Man has garnered titles or portions of titles in a record eight weight divisions – a signal feat. The drawback is that he hasn’t stayed in one division long enough to establish a significant reign. His greatness rests on his overall body of work, not the multiplicity of his titles.
And that makes him the king of his fighting nation.
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