1. Gabriel "Flash" Elorde was a Filipino professional boxer.
31 Facts About Gabriel Elorde
1. 2.
Gabriel Elorde won the lineal super featherweight title in 1960.
3.
Gabriel Elorde holds the record at super featherweight division for the longest title reign, spanning seven years.
4.
Gabriel Elorde was much beloved in the Philippines as a sports and cultural icon, being the first Filipino international boxing champion since middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia.
5.
Gabriel Elorde studied Balintawak Eskrima from his father "Tatang" Elorde who was the Eskrima champion of Bohol, from whom he learned his footwork and maneuvers.
6.
Gabriel Elorde finished only the 3rd grade of his elementary education and was forced to drop out due to extreme poverty.
7.
Gabriel Elorde then began to work as a bearer of bowling balls and, besides this, as a carpenter.
8.
Laborte taught him how to box, and Gabriel Elorde quickly learned the sport and pursued his dream to become a boxer.
9.
Gabriel Elorde made his professional debut at the age of 16 on June 16,1951, against Kid Gonzaga.
10.
Gabriel Elorde's potential was evident: he was a solidly built southpaw whose major asset was his quick hands and relentless body attack on his opponents.
11.
Gabriel Elorde defeated Tanny Campo and Hiroshi Horiguchi both in 12-round decisions to win the Philippine and Asian bantamweight titles.
12.
Gabriel Elorde outpointed all-time great world featherweight champion Sandy Saddler in 1955 in a non-title bout.
13.
However, Gabriel Elorde suffered a cut in his eye and lost the fight on a 13th-round TKO.
14.
Gabriel Elorde won the world super featherweight title on March 16,1960, by knocking out the defending world champion Harold Gomes in seven rounds.
15.
That night, Gabriel Elorde ended the country's 20-year world championship drought.
16.
Gabriel Elorde floored Gomes in the second round with a right hook to the head.
17.
Gabriel Elorde then met a series of combinations that led the referee Barney Ross to count him out.
18.
When Gomes recovered, he went to Gabriel Elorde's corner and whispered: "It was a good fight".
19.
Gabriel Elorde challenged lightweight Carlos Ortiz for his world title on two occasions.
20.
Gabriel Elorde was stopped both times by Ortiz in the 14th round.
21.
Gabriel Elorde retired with a record of 88 wins, 27 losses and 2 draws.
22.
Gabriel Elorde is considered the greatest super featherweight champion of all time in WBC history.
23.
Gabriel Elorde was a prominent commercial endorser, especially for San Miguel Beer.
24.
Gabriel Elorde was married to Laura Elorde in Tokyo in 1954.
25.
Gabriel's widow Laura Elorde died at age 92 in May 2020 at Elorde Sports Complex in Sucat, Paranaque.
26.
Gabriel Elorde is survived by 20 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
27.
Gabriel Elorde died on January 2,1985 at the age of 49.
28.
Gabriel Elorde had been in and out of the hospital since a cancerous left lung was discovered.
29.
Gabriel Elorde was enshrined into the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
30.
Gabriel Elorde was voted the 78th best fighter by the Ring Magazine's writers in 2002 when the Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years was released.
31.
On March 25,2010, Gabriel Elorde's family, headed by his widow Laura, commemorated his 25th death anniversary and 75th birth anniversary.