Francisco Guilledo

Pancho Villa
Statistics
Real name	Francisco Villaruel Guilledo
Nickname(s)	Pancho Villa Filipino Whirlwind Little Brown Boy
Rated at	Flyweight
Height	5 ft 1 in (154m)
Nationality	Filipino
Born	August 1, 1901 Ilog, Negros Occidental, Philippine Islands
Died	July 14, 1925 (aged 23) San Francisco, California
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	103 (17 NWS)
Wins	89 (13 NWS)
Wins by KO	22
Losses	8 (4 NWS)
Draws	4
No contests	2

Francisco Guilledo (August 1, 1901 – July 14, 1925), more commonly known as Pancho Villa, was a Filipino professional boxer. Villa, who stood only 5 feet and 1 inch (154 cm) tall and never weighed more than 114 pounds (51 kg), despite the racial discrimination of that time, rose from obscurity to win as the first Asian World Flyweight Championship in 1923, earning acclaim in some quarters as "one of the greatest Asian/Filipino fighters 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.

Early life and Philippine boxing career

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 Alberto Castro. Within two years, he was the Philippine Flyweight Champion, having dethroned Terio Pandong. 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.^[3]

World Flyweight Champion

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 American 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.

In what were described in that era as "pre-battle statements," the 31-year-old Wilde said: ~"I appreciate the fact that in Villa, I am going to meet one of the toughest little men in boxing. I appreciate the fact that I am going to be put to a real test, and that is what I have prepared for." In comments that summed up his fighting style, Villa said: ~"I am in condition and once in condition, my worries are over. I do not intend to give Wilde a minute's rest while we are in the ring."

Villa did not disappoint the ever pleasing crowd. On June 18, 1923, at the Polo Grounds in New York, Villa was cheered on to victory over Wilde by over more than 20,000 of 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 Occidental. 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.

Death

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 San francisco. 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.

Family

His younger half-brother, Little Pancho, was also a professional boxer who compiled a record of 103(19 KO)–18–26 with 1 No Contest.

Honors

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 ranked the 59th best fighter by the Ring Magazine's writers in 2002 on their list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.

Villa was voted as the #1 flyweight (along with Miguel Canto) of the 20th century by the Associated Press in 1999.^[4]

Professional boxing record

See also

• List of Filipino Boxing World Champions

References

1. IBHOF / Pancho Villa at www.ibhof.com
2. IBHOF / Pancho Villa at www.ibhof.com
3. Filipinos in History, Volume II, National Historical Institute, pp. 169
4. "ESPN.com: BOXING - AP Fighters of the Century list". Static.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
5. Pancho Villa's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Francisco Guilledo from BoxRec
• Francisco "Pancho Villa" Guilledo – IBHOF Biography

Francisco Guilledo at Find a Grave

• The forgotten story of... the man who sought revenge for Jimmy Wilde Article covering the Pancho Villa-Frankie Ash fight.