REMEMBERING GABRIEL ?FLASH? ELORDE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 25 Mar 2015
Elorde.
As we prepare to attend the annual Mass held at the tomb of the late Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde at the Manila Memorial Park, to honor and pay our collective respects to one of the greatest world champions of all-time who would have turned 80 today, we share the added grief of knowing that his eldest daughter, Malou, was also taken away from our midst by the same debilitating disease that painfully cut short the life of ?Bai? as he was affectionately called.
There is not a year that we fail to join Elorde?s widow, Laura Elorde, the matriarch supreme and her family and friends at the Mass to mark Elorde?s death as well as his birth on March 25, 1935. This year we have the added collective pain of also recalling the life and times of his eldest daughter, 59 year old Malou who flew in from Las Vegas every year to play her role as one of the prime personalities in the Annual ?Flash? Elodde Awards and Banquet of Champions.
We will miss her this young lady with the charming disposition for sure.
While the Mass is by nature a solemn occasion, it is often tinged with joy as we remember not just the achievements in the ring of one of the most skilled and courageous champions of our time but a gentleman extraordinaire whose decency and demeanor in the ring was mirrored in his attitude outside.
?Flash? Elorde was not just a hero of our time, he will remain a hero for all-time.
When we recall with fondness our relationship through the years with ?Flash? and the Elorde family we realize that in many respects its something very special to us.
Indeed our broadcast career in sports in the Philippines began with the coverage of Elorde?s world and Oriental title fights as well as non-title fights from which grew a strong bond that stood the test of time.
In fact, when just about everybody including the Games and Amusements Board wanted Elorde to quit boxing after he lost his title to Yoshiaki Numata, seven years and three months after he had won the title with a spectacular 7th round knockout of American Harold Gomes whom he dropped five times en route to a victory that sparked a fantastic celebration by 36,000 fans at the inauguration of the Araneta Coliseum and Filipinos nationwide, we sought to comfort Elorde as we explained the public sentiment, or at least tried to.
He pleaded for one more fight like most boxers do in the twilight of their careers so he could prove he still had it in him, to recover from the loss of his crown.
Elorde listened to nobody and even Laura correctly pointed out that her husband, ?Bai?, knew what was best for him and whether he was physically up to the challenge.
It was then that we decided to write a column suggesting that he hang up his gloves, not because we doubted his ability to continue his storied career but because we cared for him like no other and never wanted to live to see the day when he was hurt during a fight.
The memory of his crushing knockout loss to the bigger, stronger world lightweight champion Carlos Ortiz at New York?s famed Madison Square Garden which we covered for Radio Station dzHP, the ?Sound of the City? and the now defunct Philippines Herald newspaper, flashed across our mind.
We chronicled that defeat, the first knockout suffered by ?Flash? and never wanted to see a repeat. It was far too painful to bear.
Mercifully, Elorde was, as he told us later, touched by our concern and, maybe perhaps reluctantly, decided to retire.
As we remember his passing we are, in a sense, relieved that the fighter who surpassed his longtime record that stood for 34 years, World Boxing Organization light flyweight champion Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes who will be enshrined in the coveted Elorde Hall of Fame this evening is a man crafted in the same mold and one whose skill and courage in the ring, is matched by his decency and humility outside.
Despite the passage of time and our own physical drawbacks that come with it, there is no way we would miss sharing a moment of prayer and recollection and the added obligation of paying our respects to Malou with the Elorde family which we embrace as our very own. Such has been the ties that bind us, through decades of both fond and occasional tearful moments.
Attending the Mass is the least we could do for someone who brings back cherished memories of an era where he stood tall and lived up to the words we penned some years ago in a tribute to Elorde ? ?He feared no man, but was humble before all men.?
God bless your soul ?Bai? as you find solace in the embrace of a merciful God and now share that touching gesture with daughter Malou and as we as well as those you?ve left behind find solace in remembering your greatness and your essential goodness and decency and the graciousness of your daughter.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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