Lope Tenorio: El Bulakeño Matón (The Bulacan Brawler)
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 31 Mar 2025
Lope Tenorio was a mystery. He was a fighter whose fists did the talking, a bruiser who carved his name into boxing history but left little behind about the man he was outside the ring. He came from Manila, but his battles took him far—through the packed fight circuits of the U.S. to the raucous arenas of Cuba.
His story, like so many before and after him, was written in blood and sweat, in the long shadows of forgotten arenas, in the echoes of fists striking flesh. He was no paper champion, no manufactured contender. Lope Tenorio fought everywhere and seemingly everyone.
The Record That Speaks Volumes
Between 1920 and 1935, Tenorio fought an astonishing 168 bouts. His record stands as a testament to an era when fighters lived on the road, taking fights wherever they could, knowing that one payday might be their last. He amassed 1601 rounds of professional experience— an unheard-of number today.
His final tally
• 168 fights
• 69 wins
• 73 losses
• 25 draws
• 40.96% of his victories by knockout.
He wasn’t a knockout artist, but he carried enough power to break men down. More than that, he was tough…tough enough to stand in with killers, to take punishment, to walk through hell and keep swinging.
A Fighter Without Borders
Lope Tenorio wasn’t just a fighter from the Philippines. He was an international road warrior.
He made his way to the United States, stepping into the ring with some of the toughest men of his time. In Florida—where boxing thrived—he built his name the hard way, trading punches with hometown favorites and battle-worn journeymen alike.
At a time when travel was grueling, when men fought with little more than a suitcase and a pair of gloves, Tenorio crossed borders and fought wherever there was a ring and a payday. He was part of a forgotten class of fighters…the kind who took fights on short notice, who fought on back-to-back nights, who weren’t protected by promoters or cushioned by matchmaking.
Harrisburg Telegraph (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) • Mon, Jan 9, 1928• Page 17
The Wars in the Ring
Tenorio’s career was built on grit, on the kind of fights that don’t always make headlines but leave scars that never fade.
He fought Bert McCarthy, a tough Australian who once stepped in against Kid Dencio Cabanela in a bout that turned tragic. Tenorio beat McCarthy at Sydney Stadium in 1925, fighting under the alias “Tenorio Pelkey.” The reports from that fight say McCarthy, though clever, was being “severely punished” when his corner threw in the towel.
In 1932, he went to war with Bruce Flowers at Queensboro Stadium in New York. It was a slugfest, no knockdowns, just ten rounds of two men trying to break each other. Tenorio walked away with the decision, proving he could bang with the best of them.
Then there was the controversial fight against Relampago Saguero, a Cuban welterweight, in Florida. The decision went to Saguero, but the crowd disagreed…loudly. The fight was so contentious that it sparked an investigation by the Benjamin Field Boxing Commission. Those who saw the fight swore Tenorio was robbed, that he had outboxed and outfought his opponent, only to have the politics of boxing steal the victory.
And those are just a few of the wars. His record is filled with battles against men whose names have been lost to time; fighters who, like him, stepped into the ring because it was the only thing they knew how to do.
The Man Behind the Gloves?
Here’s where the mystery deepens.
Lope Tenorio’s fighting career is well-documented, but his life outside the ring? That’s another story, one that remains largely untold.
As far as we know he was born on September 25, 1901 in Calumpit, Bulacan, Philippines. We know he fought for 15 years and then, just as suddenly as he arrived, he was gone. Where he went after his last fight in 1935 is a question no one seems to have answered.
Did he stay in America? Did he return to the Philippines? Did he settle down somewhere, content to fade into obscurity after years of war in the ring? Who knows.
Lope Tenorio is a ghost, a relic from a time when fighters didn’t fight for fame but for survival. When men bled for small purses, when boxing was still raw and untamed.
Source: The Morning Union (Springfield, Massachusetts) • Fri, Jun 29, 1928, Page 23
A Fighter Worth Remembering
History remembers champions, the men who held gold, who had the right promoters, the right breaks. Fighters like Lope Tenorio? They fade. Their names slip between the cracks of time, their wars reduced to numbers on a record book.
But real ones know.
They know the names of the men who fought without promise of fortune, who stepped into the ring against anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Lope Tenorio was one of them.
Sources and recommended readings:
• Top Photo of Lope Tenorio: The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida) • Mon, May 21, 1934 • Page 8
• Lope Tenorio Boxing Record: https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/12321
• Lope Tenorio Boxing Record:https://boxerlist.com/boxer/lope-tenorio/10350
• All photos and references in this article are properly attributed and comply with the U.S. Fair Use Doctrine
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Emmanuel Rivera, RRT.
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