1925- Pancho Villa (born Francisco Guilledo, August 1, 1901 - July 14, 1925)
Villa was a Filipino boxer. Villa, who stood only 5 feet and 1 inch (154 cm) tall and never weighed more than 114 pounds (51 kg), rose from obscurity to win the World Flyweight boxing championship in 1923, earning acclaim in some quarters as "the greatest Asian fighter in boxing history".[1] He was never knocked out in his entire boxing career, which ended with his sudden death at the age of 23 from complications following a tooth extraction.
Guilledo was born in Ilog, Negros Occidental, the son of a cowhand who abandoned his family when Guilledo was just six months old. He grew up in the hacienda of a wealthy local, helping his mother raise goats she tended on the farm.
When Guilledo was 11, he sailed to Iloilo City to work as a bootblack. While in Iloilo, he befriended a local boxer, and together they migrated to Manila, settling in Tondo. He would occasionally spar with friends, and soon attracted the attention of local boxing habitués. He fought his first professional fight in 1919 against Kid Castro. Within two years, he was the Philippine flyweight champion, having dethroned "Terrible Pondong". He nearly gave up boxing after being spurned by a woman he courted, actually returning to Negros early in 1922 to retire. The clamor of Filipino boxing fans compelled him to return to the ring.
It appears that during this period, Guilledo was under the tutelage of at least two important local boxing figures. One was the American boxing promoter based in Manila Frank E. Churchill. Another was a Filipino ice plant executive and boxing manager named Paquito Villa. The renaming of Francisco Guilledo to Pancho Villa has been attributed to both men, depending on the source. One version tags Churchill as having renamed Guilledo into Villa, taking the name from the Mexican guerrilla leader.[2] Another version maintains that Paquito Villa had legally adopted Guilledo as early as 1918, renaming him Pancho.
In May, 1922, Villa received an invitation from famed boxing promoter Tex Rickard to fight in the United States. He accepted the invitation, and sailed to America together with Churchill and Paquito Villa. He immediately won his first overseas fight against Abe Goldstein in Jersey City on June 7, 1922. He then fought and defeated Frankie Genaro on August 22, 1922. By this time, Villa had caught the attention of boxing aficionados, and he was slated to fight against the American flyweight champion Johnny Buff on September 15, 1922.
Villa defeated Buff in an upset, knocking out the champion in the 11th round to win the American flyweight championship. At this point, Villa had been in the American phase of his career for only 4 months. Villa lost the title early the following year to Genaro, who defeated the Filipino on points in a widely criticized decision. The unpopularity of Villa's defeat on points proved fateful. Jimmy Wilde, the Welsh-born boxer and former world flyweight champion had decided to end his recent retirement and seek the then vacant world flyweight championship in a fight to be staged in America. While Genaro, the US champion, seemed as the logical choice to fight Wilde, Villa's growing popularity soon convinced promoters that the Filipino would prove as the better draw.
Villa did not disappoint. On June 18, 1923, at the Polo Grounds in New York, Villa was cheered on to victory over Wilde by over 20,000 fans screaming "Viva Villa!" The win came by way of a knockout in the 7th round caused by a crashing right to Wilde's jaw. Villa was described as relentless, pummeling Wilde with both hands, and causing the Welshman to also drop in the fourth and fifth rounds. Wilde never fought again.
The new world flyweight champion successfully defended his title several times and never relinquished it until his death just two years later. Villa returned to a hero's welcome in Manila in September 1924, feted with a parade and a reception at Malacañan Palace. He also returned to his old haunts in Iloilo and his hometown in Negros. Before returning to the United States, he fought one more bout in Manila, against Clever Sencio, on May 2, 1925. Villa prevailed. None of the thousands of fans who saw that fight at Wallace Field knew that they had just witnessed Villa's final victory, and the second to the last fight of his life.
Villa returned to the United States to prepare for his next match, a non-title fight against Jimmy McLarnin scheduled for July 4, 1925, at Ewing Field in Oakland. Days leading to the fight, Villa's face became swollen due to an ulcerated tooth. According to contemporary newspaper accounts, on the morning of the fight, Villa went to a dentist to have the tooth extracted. Despite the pain and swelling, Villa insisted on going ahead with fight with McLarnin. Villa ended up spending most of the fight using one hand to protect his afflicted face. Given these circumstances, Villa naturally lost, though he managed to stay the distance. It was Villa's last fight.
Two or three days after the McLarnin fight, Villa had three more teeth extracted after an infection was discovered. Against his dentist's prescription of bed rest, Villa spent the next few days carousing with friends. Villa's condition worsened thereafter, and by July 13, 1925, he had to be rushed to the hospital. It was then discovered that the infection had spread to Villa's throat, resulting in Ludwig's angina. Villa was rushed into surgery, but he lapsed into a coma while on the table, and died the following day, July 14, 1925, 17 days before he became 24 years old.
Villa's remains were returned to Manila, and in August 1925, Villa was buried at Manila North Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Gliceria.
His younger half-brother, Little Pancho, was also a professional boxer who compiled a record of 43-14-15.
Villa was inducted belatedly into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994, the second Filipino boxer so honored after Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, who was born 7 years after Villa's death. 33 years earlier, in October 1961, Villa was added by Ring Magazine to its own boxing hall of fame.
Pancho Villa was voted 59th best fighter by the Ring Magazine's writers in 2002 when the Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years was released.
* He was commemorated in two tracks on Sun Kil Moon's acclaimed 2003 album Ghosts of the Great Highway, an album which seems fixated on themes of boxing, memory, past ghosts and those who died before their natural time.
* Villa is also remembered to this day for the unusual, tragic, and rather needless circumstances surrounding his death at the young age of 23, while at the height of his boxing career.
1932- "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom W 15 Lou Scozza, Buffalo. Retains world light heavyweight title.
1973- Ernesto Marcel KO 12 Antonio Gomez, Panama City. Retains WBA featherweight title.
1985- Milton McCrory KO 3 Carlos Trujillo, Monte Carlo. Retains WBC welterweight title. https://uploadir.com/u/9v1tt184
1994- Anaclet Wamba D 12 Adolpho Washington, Monte Carlo. Retains WBC cruiserweight title.
2005- Roman Karmazin W 12 Kassim Ouma, Las Vegas. Wins IBF Junior Middleweight Title.
https://uploadir.com/u/2cm6r1ds
2007- Paul Williams W 12 Antonio Margarito, Carson, CA. Wins WBO Welterweight Title.
Referee: Lou Moret | judge: David Mendoza 115-113 | judge: Marty Sammon 115-113 | judge: Tom Miller 116-112. I scored it 114-114.
https://uploadir.com/u/qiujgo57
2007- Kermit Cintron KO 2 Walter Matthyssee, Atlantic City. Retains IBF Welterweight Title. https://uploadir.com/u/qzi6dtln
2007- Alfonso Gomez KO 7 Arturo Gatti, Atlantic City. https://uploadir.com/u/zvgi1y1o
2007- Steve Molitor KO 9 Takalani Ndlovu, Orilla, Ontario, Canada. Retains IBF Junior Featherweight Title.
2009- Elio Rojas W 12 Takahiro Aoh, Tokyo. Wins WBC Featherweight Title.
https://uploadir.com/u/ekwoym95
2009- Hozumi Hasegawa KO 1 Nestor Rocha, Kobe, Japan. Retains WBC Bantamweight Title. https://uploadir.com/u/g0zvrl46
2009- Roman Gonzalez W 12 Katsunari Takayama, Kobe, Japan. Retains WBA Minimumweight Title.
https://uploadir.com/u/le5nhli01973- Ernesto Marcel KO 12 Antonio Gomez, Panama City. Retains WBA featherweight title.
1985- Milton McCrory KO 3 Carlos Trujillo, Monte Carlo. Retains WBC welterweight title. https://uploadir.com/u/9v1tt184
1994- Anaclet Wamba D 12 Adolpho Washington, Monte Carlo. Retains WBC cruiserweight title.
2005- Roman Karmazin W 12 Kassim Ouma, Las Vegas. Wins IBF Junior Middleweight Title.
https://uploadir.com/u/2cm6r1ds
2007- Paul Williams W 12 Antonio Margarito, Carson, CA. Wins WBO Welterweight Title.
Referee: Lou Moret | judge: David Mendoza 115-113 | judge: Marty Sammon 115-113 | judge: Tom Miller 116-112. I scored it 114-114.
https://uploadir.com/u/qiujgo57
2007- Kermit Cintron KO 2 Walter Matthyssee, Atlantic City. Retains IBF Welterweight Title. https://uploadir.com/u/qzi6dtln
2007- Alfonso Gomez KO 7 Arturo Gatti, Atlantic City. https://uploadir.com/u/zvgi1y1o
2007- Steve Molitor KO 9 Takalani Ndlovu, Orilla, Ontario, Canada. Retains IBF Junior Featherweight Title.
2009- Elio Rojas W 12 Takahiro Aoh, Tokyo. Wins WBC Featherweight Title.
https://uploadir.com/u/ekwoym95
2009- Hozumi Hasegawa KO 1 Nestor Rocha, Kobe, Japan. Retains WBC Bantamweight Title. https://uploadir.com/u/g0zvrl46
2009- Roman Gonzalez W 12 Katsunari Takayama, Kobe, Japan. Retains WBA Minimumweight Title.
Born On This Day
1965- Lou Savarese (born in Houston, Texas)
Savarese won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Savarese won the 1985 Super-Heavyweight Novice Championship and the 1986 Super-Heavyweight Open Championship. In 1985 Savarese stopped(RSC-2) Jonathan Hill of Gleason's Gym in the finals to win the Championship and in 1986 Savarese defeated Alex Stewart of the Uptown Gym in the finals to win the Championship. In 1987 Savarese advanced to the finals of the Super Heavyweight Open division. He was to have met future Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe but Savarese was injured and could not box. Savarese trained at the Cage Recreation Center in White Plains, New York. Savarese is originally from Greenwood Lake, New York. He now resides in Houston.
Savarese, a Roberts Elementarian, began his professional boxing career on April 30, 1989, knocking out James Smith (not the former world Heavyweight champion) in four rounds at Galveston, Texas. Savarese's first win by first round knockout came on his second fight, against Terrence Roberts, on May 25, at Atlantic City.
Savarese won his first eight fights by knockout. On April 19, 1990, Savarese was forced to fight an entire boxing fight for the first time, when he defeated Mike Robinson in Poughkeepsie, New York by a six round decision. He proceeded to win his next seven fights by knockout, and, in 1991, Kayo boxing cards published a trading card featuring Savarese.
On September 20 of that year, he and Robinson had a rematch, with Savarese knocking Robinson out in the fourth round. His next fight, against Mike Faulkner on November 26, at White Plains, New York, resulted in a five round disqualification win for Savarese.
On November 21, 1992 Savarese fought Larry Givens, who is mostly famous for his incredible lack of success as a professional boxer. Givens retired with a record of 3-46. Savarese managed to KO Givens in the 2nd round.
Savarese ran his record to 36-0, with 30 knockouts, but he was a relatively unknown fighter: apart from the 1991 Kayo boxing trading card, no other type of media attempted to make Savarese's name a household one, partly because of the type of opposition he had met. Of Savarese's thirty six opponents, none was known to most boxing fans. So the Savarese management team came with an ingenious, and not very often seen, way to draw the public's attention towards Savarese: a Lou Savarese fan club was created, and, by the middle 1990s, the fan club was being advertised on major boxing magazines, such as Ring and KO. The advertisement offered free membership to anyone, and promised free personalized, autographed photos to each new member.
The idea worked, and Savarese was next faced with his first relatively known opponent, Buster Mathis Jr.. This fight was for the NABF's vacant regional Heavyweight title, and Savarese won the title on November 1, 1996, by knocking Mathis out in round seven, at Indio, California.
Next was a major fight against former two time world Heavyweight champion George Foreman. The fight was held on April 26, 1997, in Atlantic City. It was Savarese's HBO Boxing television show's debut, and for the widely unrecognized WBU "world Heavyweight title". While Savarese lost for the first time, he nevertheless impressed boxing critics and fans, many of whom felt he deserved the split decision that was given to Foreman. Savarese lost by scorecards of 110-118, 112-115 and a favorable 114-113.
Based on his performance against Foreman, the outcome of his next fight, against David Izon on November 1, was considered to be a mild upset. Savarese and Izon fought at New York's famed Apollo Theater, and Savarese suffered his first knockout defeat, when Izon beat him in five rounds.
But Savarese would rebound by scoring two important wins: on April 23, 1998, he defeated Jeff Lally by a knockout in round two at the Sheraton Hotel in Houston, and then, on June 25, he scored what was arguably his biggest career win, beating James Douglas, a former world Heavyweight champion and the first man to beat Mike Tyson, by knockout in the first round to pick the also widely unrecognized IBA's "World" Heavyweight title.
After that, he fought only twice in 1999, winning a split decision over then prospect Lance "Mount" Whitaker and losing by ten round decision against future Lennox Lewis world championship challenger Michael Grant, on June 19 at New York's Madison Square Garden.
More than one year later, on June 24, 2000, Savarese had his first fight abroad, when he faced Tyson in Glasgow, Scotland. The fight was stopped thirty eight seconds into the first round after Tyson accidentally sent referee John Coyle to the floor while trying to pursue Savarese. The punch was geared towards Savarese and, apart from the referee's fall, no further consequences came from it. Tyson was declared the winner by technical knockout.
Savarese remained active, and, after two wins, he beat David Bostice on November 2, 2001 by a twelve-round decision.
Another major win for Savarese came on September 22, 2002, when he beat former two-time world Heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon by a knockout in round five at Friant, California.
On March 15, 2003, he lost the title to former John Ruiz world title challenger Kirk Johnson, who knocked Savarese out in four rounds at Dallas.
Attempting to win another regional Heavyweight title, Savarese fought Leo Nolan, for the IBA's vacant Americas Heavyweight title, but he lost to Nolan by a twelve round unanimous decision on May 7, 2004. Lou Savarese returned to the ring on March 18, 2006 stopping Marcus Rhode in two rounds at Convention Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas. His record now stands at 44-6-36 ko's.
Savarese is trained by Jesse Reid, who survived a shooting in 1984 when another of his boxers, former WBC world Jr. Welterweight champion Bruce Curry shot him two days after losing to Billy Costello.
Lou Savarese continued his comeback by stopping Travis Fulton in 3 rounds on January 18, 2007, in Houston TX. Savarese showed he still has decent ability and has now brought his record to 45-6-37 kos.
On June 30, 2007, Savarese fought former Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield. He fought with great heart but lost by decision to a sharp looking Holyfield. Savarese announced after the fight that he had given it his all but it wasn't good enough, and this would be his last bout.
Savarese has been featured in episodes of The Jury, Guiding Light, The Sopranos and Rescue Me as well as the movie We Own the Night. He also played a lead role in ESPN’s documentary [Cinderella Man: The James J. Braddock Story], for which he received excellent reviews for his portrayal of boxer Max Baer. Other recent works include the independent film Nicky’s Game, A Matter of Honor, and Knock, Knock, a horror film in which he plays Rico, the villain
