Filipino boxing legend “Pancho Villa” profiled in new book by Bay Area artist, college professor

By Ryan Yamamoto

Most people, even non-boxing fans, have heard of Manny Pacquiao, who is considered the most famous fighter from the Philippines, becoming the only boxer to win a world title in eight different divisions, with a total of 12 world championships.

But long before Pacquiao, a fighter named Francisco “Pancho Villa” Guilledo was putting Filipino boxers on the global map, when he became the first fighter from the Philippines to win a world title in 1923.

For the past 15 years, artist and boxing enthusiast Joe Aquilizan has been learning about his culture and its connection to the “sweet science” by collecting hundreds of pieces of memorabilia and archival photos of Pancho Villa.

“To me, these are priceless,” said Aquilizan. “I feel like I’m now the caretaker of this collection.”

The collection of artifacts paints a picture of the young fighter’s journey to America, where Pancho Villa became a sensation on the boxing circuit.

“He kind of changed the boxing game,” said Aquilizan. “He introduced speed and power at the same time. Little guys should not be knocking out other fighters.”

During his career, by some accounts, he recorded 90 wins, eight losses, four draws, and two no-contests, with 22 KOs. But his most impressive win came in June of 1923, when he knocked out Welsh-born Jimmy Wilde in New York City to become the first Filipino to win a World Flyweight Title.

“And they really respected him in the height of, like, racism back in 1920s,” said Aquilizan. “This Asian guy, this brown guy came and showed the world that we matter, we are somebody.”

Dr. Bernard Remollino, an associate professor of Asian American and Pacific American History at San Joaquin Delta College, had already been working on his dissertation on the history of Filipino and Filipino American boxers when he had the chance to meet Aquilizan and view his collection.

“I was geeking out, I was really excited, I think my palms started getting sweaty,” said Remollino. “Here was tangible evidence this Pancho Villa actually moved through these spaces in the 1920s.”

Together, they decided that they needed to tell the story of this Filipino hero, and wrote a book titled “Pancho Villa: World Champion, 1923” that was released this summer.

“It felt like we were driven by something greater than us,” said Remollino. “We can think of Pancho Villa and the winning of the flyweight championship in 1923 as a watershed moment in the history of sport, in the history of boxing, and Filipino American history, and that speaks of the cultural importance, and it speaks to the social impact that that was having.”

An impact that would eventually open the door for other great Filipino fighters, from Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Ceferino Garcia, Small Montana, and, of course, Manny Pacquiao.

“I think [Pancho Villa] is greater than Manny Pacquiao, but Manny Pacquiao to me is probably the greatest fighter, but Pancho Villa opened that door so Manny can come in there,” said Aquilizan. “The first one is always the hardest one.”

“If we are looking at the long historical thread of how Filipinos show up in the popular imagination of viable fighter, Pancho Villa really ignited the imaginations,” said Remollino.

But Pancho Villa’s career as a boxer was cut short. After defending his title several times, his final fight was on July 4, 1925, at the old Oakland Oaks Ballpark in Emeryville. He lost to Jimmy McLarnin by decision after having a bad tooth pulled, and during the following days, he developed a serious infection, passing away ten days later at the age of 24.

And while the book is meant to educate the public on history of Pancho Villa, both Aquilizan and Remollino admit they wrote it for their people.

“We have to take care of our stories,” said Aquilizan. “I have to make sure the community gets to see what I have, and that I’m not just hoarding these images. I want to share it with my people.”

Soon, part of Aquilizan’s collection will be seen by a broader audience. This summer, the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., curated a large portion of his collection for an upcoming exhibit on the Filipino American experience that is set to open in November.