The boxing history books are full of American fighters. Ask any fan who the best of all time is and they will probably say Muhammad Ali. Others, such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Floyd Mayweather Jr. may also get a mention. Those fighters all featured on every boxing betting market at sportsbooks in their time – but there is not as much recognition of Asian fighters in the history of the game. We’ve decided to put that right here and have brought together five of the very best – without including Manny Pacquiao. Pac-Man was incredible, but we wanted to highlight some other names. Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde, Philippines Born the youngest of 15 children in Bogo, Flash was always going to be a fighter and made his professional debut at the age of just 16. He won that bout and went on to finish his career with a very impressive 89 wins in 118 bouts. He is still considered one of the greatest ever super featherweight boxers. Famed for his speed and the relentless nature of his body attacks, Flash became the inaugural WBC and WBA super featherweight champion. His most famous fight is probably the defeat of the great Sandy Saddler in 1955. Saddler complained about the heat in the Philippines – but Flash won the rematch in San Francisco as well. Chris ‘The Dragon’ John, Indonesia John is another fighter who boxed from a very early age – facing his first professional opponent at just 18. Although he fought mainly in his native Indonesia, The Dragon burst onto the world stage when he beat Oscar Leon in 2003 to take the vacant WBA featherweight title. He would go on to retain that title until 2013 – the second longest reign ever in that division. That defeat to South African Simpiwe Vetyeka was his first and only loss in a career that spanned 15 years and 52 bouts. He is still hugely popular in Indonesia and fans still recall his charisma and style. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Thailand Wonjongkam is arguably the greatest ever boxer from Thailand – and that is saying something considering the legions of fighters the country has produced. Although he suffered two defeats fairly early on in his career, Wonjongkam went over 10 years unbeaten and ended up with a record of 91 wins in 97 fights. Wonjongkam is a two-time lineal champion and held the WBC featherweight title for many years of his distinguished career. Still a big name in south-east Asia, Wonjongkam went out at the top, claiming the Thai interim super bantamweight title in his final bout. Chang Jung-koo, South Korea
The Korean Hawk is one of the best-loved fighters of all time in South Korea and was regarded as a fearless boxer during his 11-year career. He won his first world belt in 1983, beating Hilario Zapata in a rematch for the WBC light-flyweight title. He would go on to retain the crown 16 times – a record at the time. Chang was known to never back down from a fight and it was that courage that earned him praise and fans all over the world. He finished with a record of 38-4, with three of those losses coming in his last four bouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010. Pancho Villa, Philippines Born Francisco Villaruel Guilledo, Pancho Villa was a Filipino boxer who rose from obscurity, battling the racism of the day, to become the first ever Asian to win the world featherweight championship in 1923. He had moved to the US to further his boxing career after becoming disillusioned earlier on. Pancho Villa was never knocked out and retained his title on a number of occasions before moving up to bantamweight. But Villa would meet an untimely death. He had fought just days after dental surgery and caught an infection that eventually put him into a coma. One of the greatest early Asian fighters died two days before his 24th birthday.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |