Pancho Villa: The Filipino Legend

By F. Daniel Somrack

Pancho Villa, The Filipino Legend is the amazing story of the first world boxing champion from the Philippines.  Francisco Guilledo was born in Iloilo City, Philippines in 1901. As Pancho Villa, he began his professional boxing career in 1919 in Manila winning the Flyweight Championship of the Orient in his second year.

In search of fame and fortune, Villa came to the United States in 1922 and won the Flyweight Championship of America. The following year, he captured the World Flyweight Championship with knockout win over the great Jimmy Wilde of Wales. Villa had four title defenses before his unexpected death at the age of twenty-three from Ludwig's angina.

 

In 2002, Ring Magazine voted Pancho Villa one of the "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years." The Associated Press voted Villa the #1 Flyweight of the 20th Century. Pancho Villa was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994.

• Language: English
• Publisher: F. Daniel Somrack
• Release date: Jun 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201108984

F. Daniel Somrack

F. Daniel Somrack is a boxing historian who authored his first book for Arcadia Publishing entitled Boxing in San Francisco. His subsequent titles include The Eddie Futch Interview, Jack Dempsey “Nonpareil,” Pancho Villa: The Filipino Legend, Kid Gavilan: The Cuban Hawk, Cuban Legends of Boxing and The Great Benny Leonard. As a filmmaker, Somrack produced feature films and documentaries including the highly acclaimed Champions Forever that highlighted the life and times of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Billboard Magazine listed Champions as one of the highest-selling, original sports video of the 1990s.

Book preview

Chapter 1.

Pancho Villa- World Flyweight Champion

In the late spring of 1923, the weather in New York City was unseasonably cool for that time of the year. The Yankee's left the Polo Grounds and moved into their new stadium dubbed the house that Ruth built. The Yanks opened the season with a 4-1 win over the Red Sox on a Babe Ruth, three-run homer.

After all, it was the Roaring Twenties and the country was celebrating its post-war prosperity. Jack Dempsey reigned as the heavyweight boxing champion and the daily papers covered his every move. It was headline news when he signed to fight Luis Angel Firpo Wild Bull of the Pampas.

The renowned flyweight champion, *Jimmy Wilde of Wales was coming to the Polo Grounds to defend his world title against the Asian sensation, Pancho Villa of the Philippines. It was a classic matchup between the aging veteran and a young, celebrated contender.

Wilde was the first universally recognized flyweight champion of the world. Nick-named The Tiny Atom, the frail and pail, 5 foot 2, 108 pound Wilde was considered a physical anomaly. His slight appearance belied his terrific punching power. In 131 professional contests, Wilde scored 100 knockouts and was considered one of the most devastating punchers in prize ring history.

Born, May 15, 1892, Wilde went to work in the mines at fourteen to support the family.  He turned to prizefighting two years later, making a month's mining salary in a few short hours in the boxing booths of Jack Scarrott’s traveling fairs. Toppling men over twice his size, he earned the moniker, The Tylorstown Terror.

He made his professional debut on New Year’s Day 1911 with a knockout win over Ted Roberts in his hometown of Pontypridd. Fighting several times a month throughout Great Britain, he built a ninety-fight winning streak that ended when Tancy Lee of Scotland stopped him in the 17th round in a bout for the British, European and World Flyweight Championship.

Jimmy Wilde

When Wilde defeated Joe Symonds on February 14, 1916, he was officially crowned the British Flyweight Champion. Wilde made several title defenses throughout the year including a revenge knockout win over Tancy Lee. On April 24 of the same year, Wilde won the IBU World Flyweight title (Europe) with an 11th round K.O. over Johnny Rosner.

With his 11th round TKO win win over Young Zulu Kid of the United States on December 19, 1916, Wilde became universally recognized as the World Flyweight Champion. Wilde remained unbeaten in several title defenses while serving in the Army during world War I.  After a one-sided loss to the two-time bantamweight king Pete Herman in ‘21, Wilde segued into retirement with an astonishing ring record of 132-3-1 (100 KOs).

Financially secure, Wilde opened a tavern in Wales and pursued business opportunities. In 1923, Jimmy was lured back into the fight game with a big-money offer of $65,000 from famed promoter *George Tex Rickard. Come back to America and defend the title you never lost in the ring, wrote Rickard. Against the best wishes of his manager, Jimmy agreed to take on the former American Flyweight Champion, *Pancho Villa.

Villa, who hailed from a tiny village in the Philippines, was attempting to become the first Filipino to be crowned world boxing champion. His rise from obscurity to the number-one-rated contender had been nothing short of meteoric.  Discovered