Boxing Histories Behind Boxers Pacquaio, Hatton

As the May 2 fight between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Ricky ‘Hitman” Hatton approaches, it is but fitting to scratch a surface of both British and Philippine boxing influences and accomplishments.

The British forefathers of Hatton had a great influence on the sport’s history, and when boxing eventually reached Asia, Pacquaio’s Filipino predecessors started the legacy of Asian and world ring champions. Encyclopedia Britannica suggests that the earliest evidence of the boxing’s rules had Greek origins but it was not until 1681 that it was revived with a formal bout in Great Britain. By 1698, regular boxing contests were held at the Royal Theatre of London. These matches were fought without gloves and worse, without rules. Although such activity was deemed illegal, it was popular, and by 1719 a fighter named James Figg became English champion, a recognition he held for some 15 years. Figg mentored young up-and-coming disciples of the sport and one stood out, his name was Jack Broughton. It was a matter of time before he became one of the greatest and most-feared bare-knuckle prizefighters in history. Eventually, he was regarded as the “Father of Boxing” and through his introduction of “mufflers”, equivalent to modern gloves, legions of supporters were attracted to the sport. But more important than this “pugilist” accomplishment alone was Broughton’s ability to inject “decency” to boxing by introducing the first set of rules in 1743. Years thereafter, these same rules had some revisions and was substituted by the more detailed London Prize Ring rules in 1838. Though the London Prize Ring rules did help the sport prosper, the brawling aspect did not really appeal to England’s upper class. Then came John Graham Chambers of the Amateur Athletic Club. By this juncture, around 1867, he crafted a new set of rules which emphasized skill and boxing technique. He sought the support of John Sholto Douglas, the 9th marquess of Queensberry who lent his name to the newly-crafted guidelines, thus, the Queensberry Rules. The Queensberry Rules were different in four principal aspects: Contestants wore padded gloves; a round consisted of three minutes of fighting followed by a minute of rest; wrestling was illegal; and any fighter who went down had to get up unaided within 10 seconds—if a fighter was unable to get up, he was declared knocked out, and the fight was over. During this period the introduction of the first weight divisions also took place. English heavyweight champion James Mace’s interest for gloved fighting immensely advanced the popularity of these Rules. On the other hand, boxing reached Asia only in the early 1900s and was gradually embraced. Browsing through www.boxrec.com, it appears that the first ever Asian world champion was from the Philippines, a flyweight named Pancho Villa (birthname Francisco Guilledo) in 1923. In the late 1939 to early 1940, Ceferino Garcia became the NYSAC middleweight champion and was famous for his bolo punch. Gabriel “Flash” Elorde was a super featherweight champion from 1960 to 1967. Professional boxing in the country reached its apex on October 1, 1975 when “Thrilla in Manila”, featuring Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, was staged at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. James Figg, Jack Broughton, John Graham Chambers, the marquess John Sholto Douglas of England and Pacho Villa, Ceferino Garcia and Flash Elorde of the Philippines. All great men of our beloved sport of boxing. Hatton and Pacquaio, as boxers, would have loved to meet these icons in person to talk about life and boxing. But with their notable accomplishments in the ring, there is no doubt that they have already made them proud by representing their respective countries in every fight, culminating in their own mega bout this coming Saturday at MGM Grand Las Vegas. May the better fighter win. Let’s get it on!