TOP TEN FILIPINO BOXERS OF ALL TIME

10. Bernard Docusen: He never won a title but was considered one of the best fighters in the late 40’s and early 50’s. It was more difficult to win a title back then as there were only 8 weight classes and the opportunities to fight for the title was harder to come by. He first gained notoriety when he gave Sugar Ray Robinson one of his toughest fights on June 28, 1948. Docusen was only 21 years old at the time and lost a close decision to the greatest boxer of all time. Unfortunately, he never gained another crack at a title again. He was inducted in the New Orleans Sports Hall Of Fame in 1976 and in the California Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2008.

9. Gerry Penalosa: Probably the best technical fighter the Philippines has ever produced. A two time divisional champion, he was a former WBC super flyweight champion and WBO bantamweight champion. His owns an impressive record of 57 wins versus only 7 losses. Most of his losses have also came from controversial decisions and was only soundly defeated in his fight against Juan Manuel Lopez. At age 37, he is still going strong and is set to fight Eric Morel in the ‘Pinoy Power III’ this coming February 3rd.

8. Small Montana: His real name was Benjamin Gan. He owned a record of 83 wins and 24 loses. He became the World Flyweight Champion, when he defeated Midget Wolgast in 1935. A fighter with less than adequate power, he used his speed and ring intelligence to defeat most of his opponents.

7. Little Dado: One of the top fighters in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions in the late 30’s and early 40’s. He won the California version of the World Flyweight title in 1938 by defeating fellow Filipino Small Montana.

6. Luisito Espinosa: Known as the Golden Boy of Filipino boxing or Lindol, which means earthquake. He was probably the most globally known and accomplished Filipino boxer in the 1990’s. One of the most complete and talented fighter the Philippines has ever produced; he was a former bantamweight and featherweight champion. The only knock on him was he tended to perform at the level of his opponents, which might have been the biggest factor in him not being able to maximize his potential.

5. Ben Villaflor: A southpaw with bricks in his hands; he was definitely was one of the best fighters in the lower divisions during the seventies. He was a two time junior lightweight champion and owned a career record of 54 wins and 8 loses. He might have been able to achieve more but retired prematurely at the age of 23 years old after losing the rematch with Samuel Serrano.

4. Ceferino Garcia: The only Filipino boxer to ever hold a title at middleweight. He is often coined as the inventor of the bolo punch. He owned a career record of 102 wins and 21 losses. His number of victories is said to be the most wins ever by a Filipino boxer. One of the toughest fighters in his era, he won a middleweight title when he defeated Fred Apostoli in Madison Square Garden in 1939. His victory came as a surprise to many as Ceferino twice failed to win a belt in the welterweight division against Barney Ross and Henry Armstrong. He is now remembered for his bout with Henry Armstrong in the middleweight division, which ended up in a draw.

3. Pancho Villa: His real name was Francisco Guilledo and was the Philippines’ first world champion. He fought a total of 109 fights, which included 92 win, 8 loses and 4 draws. What’s makes his record more impressive is that he only fought until the age of 23 since he died prematurely from a tooth infection. But despite his short career, he remains one of the most accomplished Filipino boxers of all time. In 1922 he became the American flyweight champion by upsetting Johnny Buff.
Unfortunately he lost the title to Frankie Genaro via a controversial decision the following year. But Pancho Villa obtained another title, when he fought Jimmy Wilde for the then vacant world flyweight championship in 1923. He never relinquished the title and defended it successfully four times. He only defended it four times since he also fought at the bantamweight division.  Pancho was definitely one of the best boxers in his era and until now is considered by many as the best flyweight in history along with Jimmy Wilde. He was inducted International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1994.

2. Flash Elorde: The original ‘Filipino Flash’, he was widely regarded as the best Filipino boxer in history before Manny Pacquiao took the boxing world by storm. Flash Elorde won the world super featherweight title on March 6, 1960 by defeating Harold Gomes and successfully defended the title ten times. He is considered by WBC as its greatest super featherweight champion and his resume includes an impressive win versus Sandy Saddler. He lost the rematch with Saddler, but the latter was widely criticized for using “dirty tactics” throughout the bout.

1. Manny Pacquiao: The only boxer in history to hold a title in seven different weight classes. His impressive resume includes victories over potential hall of famers such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales and Ricky Hatton. Once a raw southpaw slugger with limited defensive skills; he has now transformed himself into a more complete fighter with great footwork and power in both hands. Now, he is not only considered by many as the best Filipino boxer in history, but also one of the greatest boxers of all time.