There is no doubt that Asia has produced many exceptionally talented championship boxers but unfortunately, many Asian icons have gone virtually unnoticed by boxing fans in Europe and America. No other Asian boxer has enjoyed the international fame and status like that of Manny Pacquaio, yet it cannot detract from their undeniable talent. During 2002, Ring Magazine included Khaosai Galaxy from Thailand, Fighting Harada from Japan and both Pancho Villa and Flash Elorde from the Philippines in their list of the 80 Greatest Fighters of the Last 80 Years - a great achievement for these often unrecognized boxers. Here are the three top boxers that deserve worldwide fame. Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran "Manny" Pacquiao was born on 17 December 1978 and is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first and only 8-division World Champion having won an astonishing 11 world titles and is commonly considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all times. Pacquiao was the first boxer to win the lineal title in 5 different weight classes and also only the third boxer in the world (and the first from Asia)to win major titles in a total of 3 of the original 8 weight divisions in boxing also known as the "glamour divisions" of flyweight, featherweight, and welterweight. Pacquiao was named the Fighter of the Decade for the 2000’s and was also awarded the Ring Magazine and BWAA Fighter of the Year award 3 times in 2006, 2008 and 2009. He has generated an excess of 19 million pay-per-view purchases and $1.2 billion in revenue. During 2015 he was also the 2nd highest paid athlete in the world according to Forbes Magazine. Many a boxing enthusiast is of the opinion that one of the best boxing matches in the history of the sport would have been between one of Africa’s boxing greats, legend Azumah ‘The Professor’ Nelson and Manny the Asian hero. Khaosai Galaxy Sohla Saenghom (Khaosai Galaxy) was born 15 May 1959 and is a former professional flyweight boxer and Muaythai kickboxer. He practiced Thai fighting in the early 1980’s but on the advice of his trainer and manager he began training as a Western style boxer. Khaosai defended his WBA world title a remarkable 19 times in seven years spanning from 1984 to 1991 winning 16 of his title fights by way of knockouts. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and is widely considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all times being ranked as #19 on the list of '100 Greatest Punchers of All Time' in Ring Magazine. Yuh Myung-Woo Yuh Myung-Woo was born in Seoul, South Korea on 10 January, 1964. He is a two-time WBA light flyweight champion and considered to be one of the best boxers ever to have come out of South Korea. Yuh successfully defended his title 17 times during his first reign, the record for the light flyweight division surpassing the previous record of 15 defenses set by former WBC light flyweight champion, Jung Koo Chang. Yuh is one of only a handful of fighters to have successfully defended their light flyweight title at least 10 times in a single reign. There is a long list of of Asian boxers that could be considered some of the best ever to have engaged in the sport regardless of whether they have received the recognition or not. As the popularity in boxing increases on the continent, one can only hope that the likes of Manny Pacquaio has paved the way for the next generation of Asian boxers. Contribution from freelance writer Jackie
If you're interested in reading more from freelance writer Jackie, their article on the 10 greatest African boxers of all time can be read here: http://www.africaranking.com/top-10-greatest-african-boxers-of-all-time/ .
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