For those who were born in the age of Pacquiao you will be surprised to know that the Philippine’s current toast of the town, that is, Manny, is not included in a new book “Boxing’s Greatest Fighters by Bert Randolph Sugar (Connecticut: Lyons Press 2006). No, dear Pacquiao fans, Manny’s bejeweled name didn’t make it to the top 100 boxers of all time (Manny by the way was mentioned by Mario Lopez, a boxing fan, when he guested in Ellen Degeneres’s show after Lopez’s stint from Dancing With The Stars. Lopez watched the Pacquiao-Morales fight).
So, how has the author, referred to as the “guru of boxing”, come up with a competent list? Sugar, who has served as editor of The King, Boxing Illustrated and Fight Game magazines, says to make it to the list it is not about the fighter’s won-lost record but the level of each boxer’s competition and the elements of “punching power, defensive skills… and durability.” Meaning it is not all about popularity, though it is a factor to consider for an athlete to be given significant attention.
Now, boxing aficionados will be caught in an unending debate as to Sugar’s choice to whom the top spot belongs. Who do you think ranked No. 1 in the elite 100? Sorry, not Muhammad Ali. It’s Sugar Ray Robinson. Born Walker Smith in 1921, Robinson went “unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon his first forty fights.” The turning point of his career, the book says, was in his forty-first fight when he lost to Jake Lamotta, another boxer who made it to the list at No. 27. His loss prompted him to reverse the decision five times in several rematch. Robinson’s record boasts of 202 bouts with 175 wins and 109 knockouts.
Ali, on the other hand, ranked No. 7. The book referred to him as “part showman, part promoter, and all champion… always heading up his own parade with a band of admirers…” Apart from his showmanship, Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1942, brought “touches of theatrical in boxing, his doggerel making his opponents’ heads spin as much as his fast hands.” And who could forget “Thrilla in Manila” in 1976 where Ali stopped Joe Frazier in the fourteenth round. The book dubbed the fight as “one of boxing’s greatest bouts.” The original “People’s Champion”, Ali has a record of 61 bouts, 56 wins and 37 knockouts.
Don’t fret. The Philippines also has its share in the ranking. No, it’s not Gabriel “Flash” Elorde nor Onyok Velasco, although both fighters have shown excellence in the ring. Ilonggo Pancho Villa made the No. 64 spot. Though Villa’s boxing career is short-lived he was nevertheless hailed by the book as the “greatest Asian boxer in history.” Despite his typical Asian height, Villa, born Francisco Guilledo in 1901 in Iloilo (which the book spelled “Iliolo”), Sugar liken the boxer to the legendary Malakas – “hard and springy, growing straight and slender” whose agility and durability in the ring proved magnificent. Villa, the book says, came from a humble beginning where after leaving his hometown for Manila made money shining shoes and “sleeping on newspapers on the stone floors of office buildings, all the better to fulfill his fistic dreams.” After impressing the crowd with his prowess his manager, Frank Churchill, brought him to the United States where he later gained prominence. However, Villa’s triumph has gotten into him that he thought he was invincible. He went into battle even in a bad form. He died at the age of 23, 10 days after his last fight. The book says, Villa defied the order of his dentist to stay out of the ring after some of his teeth were pulled out. He succumbed to Ludwig’s angina. Villa fought 105 bouts and earned 73 wins with 22 knockouts.
Interestingly enough, earning the 100th spot is Mike Tyson (I can just imagine my father screaming in joy as he is a die-hard Tyson fan). Aptly nicknamed Iron Mike, Tyson made sports headlines with his impressive fistic recalescense that never failed to astonish the audience. Tyson has a record of 58 bouts with 50 wins and 44 knockouts.
So, how has the author, referred to as the “guru of boxing”, come up with a competent list? Sugar, who has served as editor of The King, Boxing Illustrated and Fight Game magazines, says to make it to the list it is not about the fighter’s won-lost record but the level of each boxer’s competition and the elements of “punching power, defensive skills… and durability.” Meaning it is not all about popularity, though it is a factor to consider for an athlete to be given significant attention.
Now, boxing aficionados will be caught in an unending debate as to Sugar’s choice to whom the top spot belongs. Who do you think ranked No. 1 in the elite 100? Sorry, not Muhammad Ali. It’s Sugar Ray Robinson. Born Walker Smith in 1921, Robinson went “unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon his first forty fights.” The turning point of his career, the book says, was in his forty-first fight when he lost to Jake Lamotta, another boxer who made it to the list at No. 27. His loss prompted him to reverse the decision five times in several rematch. Robinson’s record boasts of 202 bouts with 175 wins and 109 knockouts.
Ali, on the other hand, ranked No. 7. The book referred to him as “part showman, part promoter, and all champion… always heading up his own parade with a band of admirers…” Apart from his showmanship, Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1942, brought “touches of theatrical in boxing, his doggerel making his opponents’ heads spin as much as his fast hands.” And who could forget “Thrilla in Manila” in 1976 where Ali stopped Joe Frazier in the fourteenth round. The book dubbed the fight as “one of boxing’s greatest bouts.” The original “People’s Champion”, Ali has a record of 61 bouts, 56 wins and 37 knockouts.
Don’t fret. The Philippines also has its share in the ranking. No, it’s not Gabriel “Flash” Elorde nor Onyok Velasco, although both fighters have shown excellence in the ring. Ilonggo Pancho Villa made the No. 64 spot. Though Villa’s boxing career is short-lived he was nevertheless hailed by the book as the “greatest Asian boxer in history.” Despite his typical Asian height, Villa, born Francisco Guilledo in 1901 in Iloilo (which the book spelled “Iliolo”), Sugar liken the boxer to the legendary Malakas – “hard and springy, growing straight and slender” whose agility and durability in the ring proved magnificent. Villa, the book says, came from a humble beginning where after leaving his hometown for Manila made money shining shoes and “sleeping on newspapers on the stone floors of office buildings, all the better to fulfill his fistic dreams.” After impressing the crowd with his prowess his manager, Frank Churchill, brought him to the United States where he later gained prominence. However, Villa’s triumph has gotten into him that he thought he was invincible. He went into battle even in a bad form. He died at the age of 23, 10 days after his last fight. The book says, Villa defied the order of his dentist to stay out of the ring after some of his teeth were pulled out. He succumbed to Ludwig’s angina. Villa fought 105 bouts and earned 73 wins with 22 knockouts.
Interestingly enough, earning the 100th spot is Mike Tyson (I can just imagine my father screaming in joy as he is a die-hard Tyson fan). Aptly nicknamed Iron Mike, Tyson made sports headlines with his impressive fistic recalescense that never failed to astonish the audience. Tyson has a record of 58 bouts with 50 wins and 44 knockouts.
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