Garcia, Elorde, Villa, Donaire, Pacquiao, Dado. Philippines are such a vibrant, dynamic place. Its history of conflict shaping their martial arts and blade culture (resulting in such systems as Kali, with its unique perception, and the notable dirty boxing among other disciplines) helped with its enthusiastic welcoming of the more British boxing. What would you say about their styles? Some say they used to fight more as if the enemy also held a blade: with more precise defense and footwork, and the necessary authority and decisivness required of a blade-wielder. Ceferino Garcia supposedly invented the Bolo Punch by imitating the movement of a scythe, which fits in perfectly with the guerilla theme of the island, and their unique vision and tendency to see weapons in even most common and seemingly trivial items. How would you describe their styles, and your impression of their pugilistic culture?
Delusional. Flash Elorde, Pancho Villa, Ceferino Garcia were all legit greats, and those are just the mainstream names for a boxing fan.
Mostly sluggers with little of the conditioning hence many being susceptible to body shots. Tend to neglect fundamentals especially the "huge" punchers who just windmills and telegraphs it with no footwork Very few are well-schooled in the art of hit but dont get hit
Most Filipino boxers tend to be boxer-punchers or brawlers, mainly fighting at midrange. Rarely do you see any that are known for their defense or in-fighting skills, sadly. Guys like Pac and Donaire stand out as the best contemporary Filipino boxers because of their speed, explosive style, and their unbreakable spirit where they can bounce back even after losing some fights. As great and talented as they both are they still have their flaws technically speaking. Donaire was more “technically” correct than Pac but still overly relied on his power and athleticism. The problem with most Filipino fighters nowadays is that many don’t possess much finesse or basic boxing ability. Some of them try too hard to be like Pac, whose style is something that isn’t fundamentally taught. Gerry Penalosa and Donnie Nietes are probably one of the very few Filipinos that I think were very fundamentally sound technicians in the ring.
I would say Penalosa and Nietes are in that category of being well schooled in the art of hit and not get hit. I only wish we had more Filipino boxers trying to emulate their style. This content is protected This content is protected
While fighters coming out of Philippines can bring quite a diverse set of styles - from sluggers and pressure fighters like Pedro Taduran, or Rodel Mayol through boxer-punchers like Milan Melindo or Brian Viloria, to technicians like Gerry Penalosa and Donnie Nietes - but one thing I see as very characteristic is their explosive offence. Penalosa might be more of an exception here, but majority of successful fighters from the Philippines are dynamic power-punchers.
