Philippine Boxing's Pound For Pound List (Q1 - 2006)

Many boxing fans have their own World P4P List. In my case, I'm more of a Philippine boxing fan than a general boxing fan. Therefore, what I have is a Philippine P4P List.

My list is not only based on a boxer's fighting record, it is also based on the quality of opponents the boxer has. A boxer with a good fighting record versus nobodies is as good as any fighter with losing records against quality opponents.

Also, punching power gets a few extra points!

If you are not yet a Philippine boxing fan, I hope you will get to know about the who's-who of Philippine boxing. If you are already a Philippine boxing fan, I hope to hear from you about your own Philippine P4P list.

Here we go...

1. Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao (41-3-2, 33KOs) - Super Featherweight
This should be a no-brainer. The PacMan is considered the most exciting boxer in the world today. He does not go for the ABC belts, but he goes for the best boxer available to fight with. His latest victim was no other than the future Hall of Famer, Erik "El Terrible" Morales, whom he KO'ed in the 10th round last February, because of this he currently ranks 2nd or 3rd on most of the World Pound For Pound lists. It is true that he does not care about the ABC belts, but he currently holds the WBC International Super Featherweight version, and is also ranked No.1 Super Featherweight contender by the WBC, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine. He is set to fight again, June 25 against Oscar Larios in the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines.

2. Gerry Peñalosa (49-5-2, 33KOs) - Super Flyweight
Back from retirement, the 33yrs-old former WBC Super Flyweight champ shows hints of old glory. Last December he defeated Feliciano Dario Azuaga Ledezma of Paraguay, then 66-6-2, via a very convincing Unanimous Decision. Despite his opponents daunting resume, he knocked him twice (in the 8th and 9th rounds) and dominated the whole fight. He currently holds the little known WBF Super Flyweight title. Seeing his power at old age, ranked boxers in his weight class avoids him like a plague. He is reportedly being eyed to fight under the Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar Larios fight in June 25.

3. Brian "Hawaiian Punch" Viloria (19-0-0, 12KOs) - Light Flyweight
This Filipino-American WBC Light Flyweight champ made headlines when he KO'ed, then champion, Eric Ortiz in just one round. Last February he proved to the world that he is for real as he convincingly defended his title against Jose Antonio Aguirre (33-4-1) via Unanimous Decision despite a broken hand which he broke in the 2nd round. Atop the WBC title he is also ranked No.1 Light Flyweight contender by IBO. He is currently being set to defend his title against fellow-Filipino Juanito Rubillar in May 2006.

4. Randy "Golden Boy" Suico (24-2-0, 21KOs) - Lightweight
A guy with an iron hand, Randy was recognized as the OPBF Super Featherwieght champ for 5 years. This was until February 2006, as he relinquished his title to move up to lightweight after 5 succesful defenses. His last defense was against Japanese Ryuhei Sugita (30-2-2) whom he TKO'ed on the 4th round in Japan last February 5. But much is left to be desired from Randy as most of his fights seem to be against patsies. Also, he failed to win against fairly good fighters like, Mzonke Fana and Javier Jauregui. I gave him a chance because his fights against the said fighters reportedly had the home-town-cooking treatment. Randy better start winning in the Lightweight category against credible fighters though, else I'll drop him from the list in the manner he treats his patsy opponents. After moving up in weight, he is is still internationally ranked. He is ranked No.1 Lightweight contender by the OPBF and WBO-Asia Pacific. He is also being eyed to fight under the Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar Larios bout in June 25.

5th and 6th place finishers can easily be exchanged in my opinion. I just gave Mayol the 5th spot because he now gets a shot at the world title.

5. Rodel "Magnum Force" Mayol (22-0-0, 17KOs) - Minimumweight
Undefeated OPBF Minimumweight champ, drew much attention to himself when he TKO'ed Mexican Lorenzo Trejo (24-12-0) in the latter's own hometown last January. The only downside about this fighter is that he fights in the smallest weight category which draws the least international attention. He is ranked No.1 Minimumweight contender by WBC and WBO. And he gets a crack at the WBC Minimumweight title against Japan-based Thai Eagle Kyowa in Tokyo, May 6th.

6. Rey "Boom-Boom" Bautista (19-0-0, 14KOs) - Bantamweight
Power and speed are the tools of this 19yrs-old kid. He definitely has the right stuff to be the next "PacMan", and this was the reason why he was just signed by Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. He rose to fame when he knocked out Felix Flores in the 3rd round at the Staple Center. But what secured his young career was his last 2 fights. He defended his WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title against Oboto Ameme (27-9-0) last November, by knocking the latter out in just 2 rounds. And then he showed lots of maturity by winning a Unanimous Decision over Gerardo Espinoza last December after being knocked down by the latter in the 2nd round. He is currently recognized by WBO as their No.1 Bantamweight contender and is now being lined-up to fight big fights, 1st in California in May 20 under the Marco Antonio Barrera - Rocky Suarez title fight and in the Philippines in July under the Manny Pacquiao - Oscar Larios showdown.

7. Z "The Dream" Gorres (23-1-1, 13KOs) - Super Flyweight
He was also signed by Golden Boy Promotions together with Rey Bautista. A good technical boxer, but is often criticized for his lack of punching power and killer instincts. His best achievement so far, was his Unanimous Decision win over veteran Waenpetch Chuwatana (23-7-2) of Thailand this month for the vacant OPBF Super Flyweight title. Golden Boy Promotions has set a fight for him in May 27 under the title fight between Jhonny Gonzalez and Fernando Montiel.

8. Rev "Gentle Giant" Santillan (22-2-1, 16KOs) - Welterweight
The lone talented Filipino campaigning above 130lbs. Lately, most of his fights are in Japan, where he can easier find opponents in his weight class. A good thing about Rev is that when you look into his fight record, you will see that he most often than not goes up against opponents with good fight records. He is no patsy-killer, and he has a good KO record to boot. Santillan carries the OPBF Welterweight title which he defended last against former OPBF Welterweight champ Kuzuhiko Hidaka (22-4-0, 16KOs) via 8th round KO. He is again set to defend his title against another Japanese, Hiroshi Yamaguchi in Tokyo, April 20th.

Now let us start with the guys who failed to win their top-class bouts.

9. Diosdado "Lion Heart" Gabi (26-3-1, 18KOs) - Flyweight
Gabi lost to Vic Darchinyan (24-0-0, 19KOs) in their IBF / IBO Flyweight Championship fight, March 3rd. Gabi fought gallantly for 7 rounds until the heavy-handed champion caught him with a big puch at the 8th for a KO.

10. Eriberto "Yukka" Gejon (21-1-1, 13KOs) - Minimumweight
Gejon lost (his only defeat) to Yutaka Niida (18-1-3) in their WBA Minimumweight Title fight, in Yokohama, September of last year via a Technical Decision. Many believed that Gejon should have won this fight. But if only Gejon has the punching power of Rodel Mayol... well, that would be the difference between 10th and 5th place.

Dreams Came True - Philippine Boxing Triumphs In Mandaue

Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Philippines - The future of Philippine boxing shines bright Saturday night (March 18th), as young up-and-coming Filipino boxers triumphed in their latest bouts.

20yrs old Super Flyweight, Robert "Cliff Smart" Allanic, won a 10-round Unanimous Decision over fellow Filipino Robert Rubillar. Allanic now has an 11-1-0 win-loss-draw card with 4KOs, while Robert fell toa 3-9-1 record.

20yrs old Lightweight, Caesar "Czar" Amonsot, also won via a Unanimous Decision. He triumphed over a very dangerous Thai, Decho Bankluaygym, in their 10-round match. Amonsot improved to 15-1-1 with 10KOs, as Bankluaygym dropped to 20-6-1 with 14KOs.

For the vacant OPBF Super Flyweight Title, 23yrs old Super Flyweight, Z "The Dream" Gorres, won, also via a Unanimous Decision, over a lethal Thai veteran, Waenpetch Chuwatana. The 12-round bout was scored 118-109 by Thai judge Pinij Prayadsub, 119-107 by Filipino judge Salven Lagumbay and 120-106 by scoring referee Bruce McTavish of New Zealand. Gorres is now 23-1-1 with 12KOs, while Chuwatana now has 23-8-2 with 14KOs.

Benedict Suico and Dexter Delada Win Local Fights

Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Philippines - Hours after Diosdado Gabi's failure in gaining the IBO/IBF Flyweight Crowns in the US, March 4, other young boxing talents strutted their stuffs in local shores to renew the hope of finding more Filipino boxing heroes.

Flywieght Benedict Suico, now carrying a 12win(9KOs), 1loss record, KO'ed Jojo Rodrigo, now 0-10-0, in the 0:27 mark of the 3rd round in their supposedly 10-round fight.

Lightweight Dexter "Dynamite" Delada, now with 15wins(10KOs) and only 2losses, won via Unanimous Decision against Jaime Acerda, now 10-24-0, in a 10-round bout.

Undefeated young prospects like Minimumweight Gabriel Pumar, now 8-0-0 (5KOs), and Flyweight Bogie Delada, now 8-0-0 (6KOs), also won their respective fights.

Gabi KO'ed By Darchinyan; Failed To Snatch IBO And IBF Flyweight Crowns

Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, CA, USA - March 3 has been an unfortunate day for Philippine boxing as Diosdado "Lion Heart" Gabi lost in his title fight against, IBO and IBF Flyweight Champion, Vic "The Raging Bull" Darchinyan via 8th round KO.

Diosdado did great in the first 3 rounds as the champion proved to be a no-defense all-left-hand -offense fighter. The 26yrs old Diosdado regularly the peppered Vic with good punches after dancing around the champion's own barrage. Left frustrated, the 30yrs old champ started rough-housing the Filipino in the 4th and 5th rounds, pushing him around with his gloves and his shoulders. Rounds 6 and 7 goes to the Armenian-Australian, as Gabi stopped boxing and decided to start slugging, visibly tired of all the rough-housing. Round 8 proved to be the end, Gabi was able to tag Darchinyan with a left but he mistakingly dropped the right hand. Vic finally saw an opportunity to land a nasty left hand dropping the Filipino. Gabi showed heart by standing up at the count of 8 but referee David Mendoza did a great job by stopping the fight as Gabi is still visibly glassy-eyed.

The knockout dropped Gabi to a 26(18KOs)-3-1 win-loss-draw record while Darchinyan remains undefeated with 25wins (20KOs).

Newbie Pinoy Pug, Bernabe Concepcion, Won PABA Youth Super Featherweight Title

Super Brand Mall, Shanghai, China - Hot new prospect, Bernabe Concepcion, won the Vacant PABA Youth Super Featherweight Title over China's Wei Yang Jiang, February 24.

Jiang was down on the canvas four times in the supposedly 8round bout and the 18yrs old Bernabe cemented the win with the 4th KO on the 7th round.

Bernabe's record now stands, 3wins(3KOs) with 1draw. Jiang dropped to a 1win,1loss slate.