Before Pacquiao and Elorde, there was Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa

The recent victory of Filipino boxer Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao over his timid opponent Joshua Clottey proved once more that Pacquiao is the greatest boxer the Philippines has ever produced. He has solidified his stature as the symbol of hope and pride among the Filipinos. Indeed, whether or not he fights Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao is already the true pound-for-pound boxer on the planet today.

But many, many years ago, in the pre-war years, before the era of the television, one Filipino stood up in the boxing ring and fought the best of the best in his weight class, becoming the very first Filipino world boxing champion.

He was Pancho Villa, the most brilliant and exciting fighter of the 1920s, an era that bred such great pugilists as Cabanela, Young Dencio, Frisco Concepcion, Clever Sencio, and the Flores Brothers. Today, many boxing aficionados rank Villa alongside Pacquiao and Flash Elorde as the three greatest Filipino fighters of all time

At that time, when the Philippines was still a colony of the United States, Pancho Villa placed the Philippines on the map by winning laurels abroad, defeating the toughest flyweights in the United States. His fighting style was characterized by a relentless attack, a raging bull onslaught, and explosive and devastating punches.

September 1922 Issue of Lipang Kalabaw Magazine, with Pancho Villa on the cover.
Caricature by Fernando Amorsolo.

Record fights

Records show he fought a total of 105 matches (some with only weeks in between) -- a record in itself. This number does not include the boxing games he played prior to his debut in the United States.

Born Francisco Guilledo in Negros Occidental, Villa adopted the name of Pancho Villa, Mexico's famous revolutionary. From 1919 to 1922, Villa fought exclusively in the Philippines, often facing much larger men. In that time, he lost only three fights and captured two Filipino titles. In 1922, the American boxing promoter Frank 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.

US debut

The American 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. Both fighters won. The crowd gave Villa a standing ovation.

Three months after his arrival in the U.S., Villa knocked out Johnny Buff in 11 rounds to win the American flyweight title. Genaro took the title back in 1923 in a 15-round decision that many observers believed belonged to Villa. Meanwhile, British flyweight champion Jimmy Wilde had come to New York seeking the world title. Although Genaro was the likely opponent, the now wildly popular Villa was considered a better draw. In the match at New York's Polo Grounds on June 18, 1923, Villa displayed his relentless attacking style, peppering Wilde with punches from both hands. In the seventh round, Villa battered Wilde into a state of helplessness, ending the fight --and Wilde's career.

Pancho Villa caricature by cartoonist Jorge Pineda, Lipang Kalabaw 1923.

Extravagant lifestyle

As world champion, Villa collected into his person all the swank and swagger of the period, and the whole country felt an electrifying pride in his rise from rags to riches, his magnificent wardrobe, his collection of silk shirts, and natty hats, his pearl buttons and gold cuff links, and his royal retinue. He had a servant to massage him, another to towel him, a valet to put on his shoes, another to help him put on his trousers, still another valet to comb his hair, powder his cheeks, and spray him with the most expensive perfume.

The Filipinos loved his extravagance, treating him like royalty. Villa captured his countrymen's adulation, and he thought he deserved it. He was perhaps more idolized as a magnifico--a showman – rather than as a boxer, and he was conscious of it.

Villa successfully defended his title several times in the U.S. and in the Philippines, and for a time, was considered practically invincible in the ring. In 1925, Villa fought in a non-title bout with Jimmy McLarnin in Oakland. Weak from the recent extraction of a wisdom tooth, Villa lost the decision. It was destined 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.

Pancho Villa's Grave inside the Manila North Cemetery.
The grave is being cleaned everyday by a tomb caretaker.

The champ falls

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 on July 14, 1925. He was 24.

It is widely believed Villa died of Ludwig's Angina, an infection of the throat cavity. In truth, an overdose of anaesthesia administered to him by his doctor did him in.

According to the New York Times, July 15, 1925 issue, Villa '...died at a hospital here [San Francisco] today while undergoing an operation for an infection of the throat that developed from an infected tooth. Dr. C.E. Hoffman said the boxer suffocated under the anesthetic. Dr. Hoffman was preparing to operate when Villa's heart stopped. Artificial respiration failed to revive the patient.'

Villa's untimely death at a very young age broke the nation's heart. The hysteria that possessed the masses during his funeral was the most feverish of the era. Filipinos openly wailed in the streets while their hero's casket was being borne to its destination.

Such was the brief but shining career of one of the greatest Filipino boxers who ever lived.

But the story of Villa did not end there. More than 60 years after Villa's death, it was bandied about that he was actually murdered.

In 1989, Pancho's widow Gliceria, then 84, insisted that a gambling syndicate conspired to murder the champion because of big losses in the Villa-McLarnin non-title fight. Villa was a heavy favorite to beat McLarnin and the syndicate placed a huge amount of bet on Villa. Mrs. Guilledo claimed that her husband was injected with an overdose of anesthetic on instructions from the syndicate.

In 1994, Villa was inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the second Filipino to be so honored, after Gabriel 'Flash' Elorde.

Images from the collections of/by Dennis Villegas, unless otherwise stated. Some rights reserved.

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