Gabriel Elorde

Elorde is considered one of the best Filipino boxers of all time along with eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao and Pancho Villa, flyweight champion in the 1920s.

He was much beloved in the Philippines as a sports and cultural icon, being the first Filipino international boxing champion since middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia.

A southpaw, Flash Elorde was known for his boxing skills and speed.

Writer Robert Lipsyte once described his style as the "subtle little temple-dancer moves".

He studied Balintawak Eskrima from his father "Tatang" Elorde who was the Eskrima champion of Cebu, from whom he learned his innovative footwork and maneuvers.

Elorde's style from eskrima has been adopted by many boxers, including his friend Muhammad Ali, which influenced the out-boxer style of boxing.

Gabriel Elorde was born in the town of Bogo, Cebu.

The youngest of 15 children, he came from a poor family.

Elorde finished only the 3rd grade of his elementary education and was forced to drop out due to extreme poverty.

He then began to work as a bearer of bowling balls and, besides this, as a carpenter.

His love for boxing came from a friend, Lucio Laborte, a former professional boxer.

Laborte taught him how to box, and Elorde quickly learned the sport and pursued his dream to become a boxer.

At the time he was only 16 years old.

Gabriel "Flash" Elorde (March 25, 1935 – January 2, 1985) was a Filipino professional boxer.

The event happened two decades after compatriot Ceferino Garcia, known as the father of the 'bolo punch', lost the middleweight division he lorded over until 1940.

Elorde floored Gomes in the second round with a right hook to the head.

The Filipino challenger knocked down the 25-year-old Gomes again in the third and in the fifth, sending him over the ring's lower rope at the end of the round.

In the next round, Gomes mounted a brief comeback, but at the start of the seventh, Elorde hammered him again, connecting with rights to the head followed by a left to the jaw that sent him down once more.

Gomes got up but was floored again after receiving a combination of lefts and rights.

He then met a series of combinations that led the referee Barney Ross to count him out.

When Gomes recovered, he went to Elorde's corner and whispered: "It was a good fight".

Elorde made his professional debut at the age of 16 on June 16, 1951, against Kid Gonzaga.

The bout was held in Cebu, Philippines.

The boxing newcomer stopped his foe in the 4th round.

Within a year, Elorde was able to win the national bantamweight title.

His potential was evident: he was a solidly built

southpaw whose major asset was his quick hands and relentless body attack on his opponents.

In his first 14 fights, he suffered 2 defeats and 1 draw before coming into his own.

He defeated Tanny Campo and Hiroshi Horiguchi both in 12-round decisions to win the Philippine and Asian bantamweight titles.

He also outpointed all-time great world featherweight champion Sandy Saddler in 1955 in a non-title bout.

In 1956, he was given a rematch with Saddler, this time with Saddler's featherweight title on the line.

He won the lineal super featherweight title in 1960.

He won the world super featherweight title on March 16, 1960, by knocking out the defending world champion Harold Gomes in seven rounds.

That night, Elorde ended the country's 20-year world championship drought.

The crowd estimated to be around 30,000, inside the newly built Araneta Coliseum, rushed into the ring after seeing Gomes go down to his knees at the one-minute-50-second mark of the seventh round.

In 1963, he won the inaugural WBC and WBA super featherweight titles.

He holds the record at super featherweight division for the longest title reign, spanning seven years.

However, Elorde suffered a cut in his eye and lost the fight on a 13th-round TKO.

Many boxing experts criticized Saddler, known as a very rough and vicious fighter, for the result of the bout.

Jack Fiske of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "It was a dirty fight throughout and all the onus must be on the 126-pound champion's skinny shoulders. From this corner, it appeared highly improbable that he could have successfully defended the title ... if he hadn't resorted to all the so-called tricks in and out of the rule book."