SPORTS RECORDS 7: GABRIEL "FLASH" ELORDE, THE LONGEST REIGN AS SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 08 Jan 2025
Gabriel "Flash" Elorde won the lineal super featherweight title in 1960. In 1963, he won the inaugural WBC and WBA super featherweight titles. He holds the record at the super featherweight division as the longest reigning champion for seven years. Elorde is considered one of the best Filipino boxers of all time being the first Filipino international boxing champion since middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia.
* * *
He won the world super featherweight title on March 16, 1960, by knocking out the defending world champion Harold Gomes in the seventh round. Elorde ended the country's 20-year drought without a world champion. An estimated crowd of 30,000, inside the newly built Araneta Coliseum, rushed into the ring after Gomes was not able to get up on his knees at the one-minute-50-second mark of the seventh round. The championship moment occurred two decades after countryman Ceferino Garcia, known as the father of the "bolo punch'", lost the middleweight title he held until 1940.
* * *
Elorde defended the title 10 times against Gomes, Joey Lopes, Sergio Caprari, Auburn Copeland, Terou Kosaka (twice), Johnny Bizzaro, Kang-Il Suh, Vicente Milan Derado, Love Allotey until June 15, 1967, where he lost a majority decision to Yoshiaki Numata of Japan. The successful defenses made him the longest-reigning world junior lightweight champion ever. He reigned for seven years and three months.
* * *
Elorde retired with a record of 88 wins (33 KOs), 27 losses and 2 draws. He is widely considered as the greatest super featherweight champion of all time in WBC history. In 1993, he became the first Asian inducted into the New York-based International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was also enshrined into the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Elorde was also listed as the 78th best fighter by the Ring Magazine in 2002 in its 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.
* * *
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. played professional basketball for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins as center. Abdul-Jabbar won a record six NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. He was a 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA Team member, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He was a member of six NBA championship teams as a player and another two titles as an assistant coach, and was twice selected as an NBA Finals MVP.
* * *
Andul-Jabbar was named to three NBA anniversary teams, the 35th, 50th, and 75th. He has been regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time by many of his contemporaries such as Pat Riley, Isiah Thomas, and Julius Erving. Abdul-Jabbar topped the NBA's career scoring record in 1984, and was number one until LeBron James surpassed him in 2023.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Paul vs. Chavez Jr: Can Julio Derail Jake Paul?
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 28 Jun 2025Dr. KO: Christian Mbilli Stops Maciej Sulecki in 1
Sat, 28 Jun 2025GOLDEN BOY SIGNS UNDEFEATED MIDDLEWEIGHT BLUE-CHIP PROSPECT AMARI JONES
Sat, 28 Jun 2025Paul vs. Chávez Jr. is a Go: All Fighters Make Weight in Anaheim Ahead of High-Stakes Bout
Sat, 28 Jun 2025IIEE Chessmasters Overall Champion in the International Bundesliga with GM Joey Antonio
By Marlon Bernardino, Sat, 28 Jun 2025Kittipong of Thailand Battles Bhavesh of India in Brico Santig's Exciting Show in Bangkok
By Carlos Costa, Sat, 28 Jun 2025Weights from Philadelphia
Sat, 28 Jun 2025Alekhine Nouri and John Jerish Velarde struck gold and bronze
By Marlon Bernardino, Sat, 28 Jun 2025Would OKC Still Win the West If Dallas Had Not Traded Doncic?
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Fri, 27 Jun 2025Asenso Ozamis Open chess tournament on July 12 and 13
By Marlon Bernardino, Fri, 27 Jun 2025MOST VALUABLE PROMOTIONS’ JAKE PAUL VS. JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Fri, 27 Jun 2025Guro Dan Inosanto: Guardian of the Filipino Fighting Spirit
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, Fri, 27 Jun 2025Weigh-In Results: Christian Mbilili vs. Maciej Sulecki
Fri, 27 Jun 2025Unbeaten Philippines Top Prospect Criztian Pitt Laurente Signs with Sanman Boxing
Fri, 27 Jun 2025SALITA PROMOTIONS SIGNS PROMISING AMERICAN HEAVYWEIGHT SARDIUS SIMMONS
Fri, 27 Jun 2025