THE GREAT GABRIEL “FLASH” ELORDE - (Part 1)

 
By Rene Calalang
Scarborough-ON-Canada
March 17, 2020
 


IF Manny Pacquiao is the most famous Filipino boxer of the early 2000’s up to the present; the 60’s and the 70’s of the 1900’s, Gabriel “Flash Elorde” was the King.

As we celebrate or remember the 60^th anniversary of Gabriel “Flash” Elorde’s knockout victory over Harold Gomes on March 16, 1960 to win the WBA Junior Lightweight Championship of the World, thus ending then our nation’s twenty years drought of a boxing hero considering before Elorde’s glorious victory, the last time there was a Filipino World Boxing Champion was in 1940. I believe therefore, that it is just fitting that we remember or honor him because of his achievement through this article.

Denying to honor him is to do injustice to him as Da Flash, in my opinion, is very much deserving of being honored. He also possesses other qualities seldom seen on a famous human being, that despite his popularity and greatness, he remained humble; and despite his money, he chose to live a simple life, choosing instead to help others through his humanitarian works.

Personally, I had never met Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, who, together with Pancho Villa and Manny Pacquiao, I consider one of the three greatest Filipino boxer of all time.

All I had done to know him was listen to the round by round and blow by blow accounts of his many fights; and if I am lucky enough to have saved some money, say fifty centavos from my weekly high school allowance, I would be able to watch his fights as an added attraction to many movies, mostly those films by Fernando Poe Jr.

But one thing is for sure, he aroused my interest in boxing, which started approximately sixty years ago, when, as a twelve years old kid I heard from the old folks, when I was having a haircut or just hanging around in a barber shop in our barrio, which was then a remote barrio with forest like environment and plenty of wild birds (how I wish it is still is today) in the now City of Malolos, that a boxer named Flash Elorde would be challenging Harold Gomes, then, the reigning WBA Junior Lightweight Champion of the World for the latter’s boxing title.

The fight which was to be held on March 16, 1960, during the inauguration of the brand new Araneta Coliseum, which was then the biggest dome coliseum in Asia. It is also interesting to note that March 16 is the official date of the discovery of the Philippines.

But who was Flash Elorde before challenging Harold Gomes.

Da Flash, as he was popularly known, was born in Bogo, Cebu on March 25, 1935. The youngest of fifteen children, he finished only third grade in his elementary schooling because of poverty. Like Manny Pacquiao, he would, at an early age started doing odd jobs to help his poor family.

He was introduced into boxing by his friend Lucio Laborte, a former professional boxer. It has been said that he got his legendary foot work from his father, who was the Eskrima champion of Cebu. It also has been said that many professional boxers copied his style, one of them being his friend, Muhammad Ali.

But watching some of his fights via You tube, I may also add that he was a ferocious body puncher, perhaps he believed in one of the doctrine of Sweet Science: “Kill the body and the head will follow.”

On June16, 1951, he turned professional when he was only sixteen years old, and won his professional debut by defeating Kid Gonzaga by a fourth round knockout in a fight held in Cebu City.

In a span of a year and a month, he would fight eighteen times and on his eighteenth fight, he would win the bantamweight championship fight of the Philippines by defeating Tanny Campo.

He would have another fight (against Little Dundee) before challenging and defeating Hiroshi Horiguchi for the latter’s Oriental Bantamweight Title on October 18, 1952 in a fight held in Tokyo, Japan.

On August 18, 1954, he would win the Lightweight Championship of the Philippines by defeating Tommy Romulo.

He rose to world boxing prominence when on July 20, 1955, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, he defeated, then the reigning Featherweight Champion of the World and All Time Great Sandy Saddler in a ten round non-title fight.

In Jan 18, 1956, Elorde could have been one of the youngest world boxing champion of our generation when at age 21, he was given a rematch with Saddler at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, this time; Saddler’s title was at stake. Elorde was ahead on points when the fight was stopped by the referee because of a deep cut above Elorde’s eye, which newspaper reports said was caused by Saddler’s dirty tactics.

On October 23, 1957, he would win the Super Featherweight Championship of the Philippines by defeating Leo Alonzo in a fight held at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

On March 16, 1960, he was given a shot to the then WBA reigning Junior Lightweight Champion of the World, Harold Gomes of Rhode Island, USA.

Da Flash made the whole nation proud by scoring a seventh round knockout to win the title. The fight was so one sided that Elorde knocked Gomes down in the second, third, fifth and seventh round. The fifth round knockdown sent Gomes over the ring’s lower rope, while the two knockdowns in the seventh caused the referee Barney Ross to stop the fight by counting out Gomes.

But like many athletes who cannot accept defeat, Gomes reasoned out that the cause of his defeat was the weather, as it was so hot in Manila on that fateful night, which was probably true, as March, being summer, is always hot in the Philippines or Cuaresma as we commonly called it.

But it was not the heat of summer why Elorde won, it was just Da Flash was the much better fighter that night.

To prove that his victory was no fluke, Flash Elorde’s team gave Gomes a chance to regain his crown by giving him a rematch. So, on August 17, 1960, they met again at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. This time, there was no more excuse, as Da Flash knocked Gomes out in the very first round.

A nation already beaming with pride rejoiced even more. And who wouldn’t, as the Filipinos had been longing for a sports hero particularly in boxing since 1940, the time Ceferino Garcia, the former Middleweight Champion of the World and inventor of the now famous “bolo punch”, last defended his Middleweight title.

It is interesting to note that in 1960 and earlier, there are only two boxing bodies that recognizes world boxing champions: the World Boxing Association and the Ring Magazine. When Flash Elorde knocked Gomez out, he would win the WBA World Junior Lightweight Boxing Title. He would then defend it three times.

In 1963, a new World Boxing Body was formed, the World Boxing Council, and it will recognize Da Flash as its Super Featherweight (identical to Junior Lightweight in weight) Boxing Champion, making Elorde both the WBA and WBC unified champion.

Flash Elorde would then defend his unified title seven times against the likes Johnny Bizzaro, Love Allotey, Teruo Kosaka (twice), Kang IL Suh and Vicente Derado, before losing it to Yoshiaki Numata of Japan by a majority decision. He would rule the junior lightweight division for more than seven years and would make him the longest ruling boxer in that division.

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TO BE CONTINUED