Hello guys, today I will be talking about this Filipino boxer called Ceferino García, well known by the boxing family, who went from being a feared street fighter to world middleweight champion. After his retirement, he was the driver and escort of the famous actress Mae West. Along with Flash Elorde, Navarrete, and current champion Manny Pacquiao, they vie for the top three pound-for-pound Tagalog boxers.
Born in the town of Naval, (Bilirian) Philippines, on August 26, 1906 with a record of 162 fights [118 (74KO) 30-20] he was a rocky, skilled and determined fighter. He started boxing in Cebu at the age of 17, with a strong punch and an aggressive attitude, intensified by his street fighting. He remarkably stood out above all prospects in the golden age of Filipino boxing, debuting in Manila in 1923.
If you want to have a boxer as a sports reference with great courage to face the authentic Hercules of the time, fighting in each fight, losing with honor and winning with humility, that is Garcia. The first time he contested the world championship it was against Barney Ross, a decorated marine and hero of the Jewish community. Ross became his black beast as he would lose to him three times in his professional career. This time it was for you for the welterweight belt.
The brave Garcia was not comfortable and decided to move up to middleweight, where he strengthened his boxing and demonstrated it before a great in boxing history, world champion Fredd Apostoli. That night Apostoli and his powerful body shots weren't enough to beat Garcia, who snatched the middleweight world champion belt. Garcia stepped into the ring with memorable boxers like Henry Armstrong, Niño Azteca, Peter Jackson, Fredie Stelee, Lloyd Marshal, Ken Overlin, and Antón Christoforidis.
Good old Garcia is also credited with inventing the “bolus punch,” which resembles the rocking action of a bolus, a large machete-like cutting tool used in the Philippines. Welterweight world champion Kid Gavilán later became famous for using Garcia's pin punch, and the great Sugar Ray Leonard used it to avenge his loss to another great boxer, Roberto Durán, in 1980.
Filipino boxing, once again, has a great ambassador who fills his people with pride every time he waves the Tagalog flag in multiple places around the world. Garcia makes boxing history from the lowest of social classes to become a hero to the world, making his own in the Japanese proverb "he who wants to climb invents the ladder."
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