be considered the most skilled Filipino Boxer in history? C'mon, Pac is good but can some times become an awfully sloppy slugger. Just caught Garcias fighter with Ross on the tube and even though he lost it, he fought exceptionally beautiful! Well both of them did...
He's great and from what I've read the actual fighter to start using the bolo punch which Gavilan & Leonard did afterwards. He fought Henry Armstrong too and yes he can be considered the best Filipino boxer. Pac is a sloppy slugger at times that's going to fight Cotto's sloppy seconds though still Clottey is a true WW.
I'd say that Gabriel 'Flash' Elorde was probably the most skillful. He wasn't the puncher Garcia and Pacquiao were but he could box.
He wasn't the first to use the Bolo Punch, but he made it popular. I wouldn't consider him the best or most skilled, but he's close. Flash Elorde was a better boxer than he was.
I agree; Pac may be more well-rounded and talented, but I think Garcia may have been a better technician. But as someone else said, Elorde is probably the most skillful of all.
Elorde would have been my pick...but maybe Penalosa deserves a shout. Cagey customer in his prime at 115.
THen who was the first to use the Bolo punch? Manny is the most skilled, Flash also had alot of skills. Would like to see footage of Pancho Villa heard he was something great!
Who first used it? I know first people wanted to say Gavilan but that's not true either. As Filipino boxers Garcia can be considered by some to be the best but he's good enough for maybe top 5.
I think he's mixed up. as far as I know Gavilan was the first to popularise it and Garcia was the man who 'invented' it, though personally I think they both came to seperate discoveries of the punch (gavilans whilst swinging his machete)
I would pick Pancho Villa, as the greatest Phillipino fighter of alltime, followed by Garcia, [first champ to use the bolo punch],Manny Pac,Flash Elorde ,etc....Villa,s ko of the unbeatable, but over the hill Jimmy Wilde,in 1923, seen today on film, is quite impressive...I have also watched him on film 2 other times, and was a hard punching dynamo...Unfortunately, his great career was cut short in 1925, when Villa lost a 10 round dec. non title fight with the rising young star ,Jimmy McLarnin...Weak from a recent tooth extraction, before the fight ,Villa died from an infection of the throat...Second greatest flyweight, I believe......