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CALIFORNIA, United States?Before the Pacman, there was the Flash.
This month marks the 25th death anniversary of Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde, one of the greatest boxers in history. Time to remember the fighter who, like Manny Pacquiao, made the world know the Philippines as a boxing powerhouse.
Flash Elorde also was the first Asian to be named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Unless he does something outrageously stupid?say, bite an opponent?s ear off, or keep making bad movies, perhaps?Pacquiao will likely join him on that list.
Of course, Pacquiao is so big now, he doesn?t really need to be on that list to be remembered. He has already exceeded Flash Elorde, in terms of stature and fame.
Elorde was respected worldwide as an outstanding fighter, but he rose to fame at a time when the heavyweights of boxing, the big stars of the sport, were the heavyweights, the likes of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
On the other hand, despite his size, Pacquiao is the big man of the boxing world today, considered the best fighter pound for pound. Unlike in the 1960s and 1970s, many people today probably wouldn?t know who the reigning heavyweight champion is.
But they would know of Manny Pacquiao.
Still, Elorde occupies a special place in Philippine sports history. Filipino American writer Peter Bacho, author of ?Boxing in Black and White,? called Elorde ?a great but underrated fighter.?
?Although there were great Filipino fighters in the 1920s and 1930s?especially Pancho Villa and Ceferino Garcia?Flash re-established Filipino boxers on an international level,? he told me.
Elorde was born in Cebu in March 1935. He turned pro at 16 and quickly emerged as a serious world contender. He won a 10-round non-title fight against the famous featherweight champion Sandy Saddler in 1955. In their rematch the following year in San Francisco, Elorde lost after he suffered a cut over the left eye that led to the bout being stopped in the 13th round. (Video clips of the fight can be found on YouTube.)
It was a controversial loss, marked by allegations that Saddler had cheated and fought dirty. But the fight also boosted Elorde?s international reputation. And in 1960, he won the junior lightweight crown by beating Harold Gomes at the Araneta Coliseum. He defended his title ten times until June 1967, becoming the longest reigning champion in his division.
Elorde became world-famous as both a great, and hard-working, fighter.
He later failed twice to win the lightweight title from the legendary Carlos Ortiz of Puerto Rico. But in a column on HBO.com, William Detloff said Elorde?s final loss to Ortiz ?did little to tarnish Elorde's reputation or to negate all the good work he'd gotten done over all the years prior as one of the busiest fighters in the business.? He also quoted a New York Times report which said, ??it was too many punches in too many rounds in too many cities that drove the Filipino to the canvas.?
Flash Elorde died January 2, 1985 at age 49.
His boxing career was coming to an end when I was born. But growing up, I still heard Filipinos speak highly of him and Flash also remained in the public eye as an occasional boxing commentator. He was also a TV pitchman for San Miguel beer in a popular commercial, featuring the late Bert ?Tawa? Marcelo and Rico J. Puno, in which he famous says, ?isang platitong mani??one cup of peanuts.
Though he surely did not earn as much money as Pacquiao, Elorde was smart about his earnings, using the fortune he earned from fighting to help train other fighters through his Elorde Boxing Gym.
In his public appearances, Flash Elorde came across as a humble, soft-spoken man. Pacquiao also has those traits, though he clearly is seeking to expand beyond boxing, in a puzzling bid for a showbiz career and still fuzzy political aspirations.
Bacho, himself a boxer and martial artist and whose book on boxing won critical praise, calls Pacquiao ?remarkable, a more disciplined Aaron Pryor, who constantly attacks and hits from all angles.?
But is Pacquiao at risk of tainting his impressive career by attacking from too many angles beyond boxing?
As a fighter, Bacho says, the Pacman ?has flaws, especially when he attacks [and] he?s open to counters, but his gaps are theoretical because he?s on his opponent so quickly and throws hard 5-10 punch combinations. That hand speed is something.?
But the Pacman, he noted, can learn something from the Flash. ?The Flash was very, very humble?and beloved. Manny can learn a bit of that as well.?
