10 Things You Should Know About Pancho Villa: One of the Best Boxers in the Philipines


1.His real name is Francisco Villaruel Guilledo, a son of a cowboy who was abandoned as early as six months old. In order to make a living, he helped his mother rasie goats in a farm owned by a wealthy local. He also did boot lacking as his source of income in his childhood years.

2. He migrated to Manila with his companion and did sparring occasionally until he got hooked to it and finally entered the world of local boxing habitués.

3. His total number of bouts is 103 with 89 wins, 22 by KO he had lost 8 times. He is the fighter who had never been knocked out throughout his boxing career.

4. He is the first Asian to win the World Flyweight Championship in 1923 earning the reputation in some quarters as one of the greatest flyweight boxers on the history.

5. He is known to be the "Filipino Whirlwhind" as the boxing aficionados describe him as a relentless fighter, that he can ruin and beat anyone with his undying determination.  

6. He nearly gave up boxing after getting rejected by a woman he courted.

7. He was nicknamed as "Pancho Villa" by his Boxing Mentors, Frank E.Churchill and Pacquito Villa, which according to some sources, there are 2 versions of this story:

First, Churchill renamed Guilledo to Villa, taking the name from the Mexican guerilla leader. 
Second, Pacquito Villa had legally adopted Guilledo as early as 1918, renaming him Pancho.

8. His first professional fight happened in the year 1919 against Alberto Castro.

9.He owned the World Flyweight Champion title after defeating Jimmy Wilde in America and successfully defended his title for several times even until his last breath. 

10. Pancho Villa suffered with Ludwig Angina, an infection that lead to his death as early as 23 years old. He was buried in Manila North Cemetery on August 1925.


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