Remembering Young Frisco
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 06 Mar 2014
Only his closest kins, perhaps, remember that once upon a time, there was a Filipino boxer who fought in six weight divisions and succeeded in crowning himself Oriental champion in three categories in a colorful fighting career spanning 24 years.
Young Frisco, Francisco Eusebio in real life, fought mostly overseas for lack of worthy opponents here to, at one time or another, owned the Orient welterweight belt (1933), middleweight (1934) and light-heavyweight (1942), to emerge the first Filipino multi-division Asian champion.
No other Filipino simonpure of records had fought in a division higher than middleweight. Ceferino Garcia, originator of the "bolo punch," was once a world middleweight kingpin.
Eusebio, a six-footer and born June 11, 1914 in Pasay City, had actually won the light-heavyweight championship of India in 1938 and of Australia in 1942 before temporarily hanging his fighting gloves for a few years and came back to claim the heavyweight championship of Victoria State in Australia. Again, the first from this shore to rule boxing's highest division Down Under.
Weighing at 175 pounds while campaigning in heavier classes, the good-looking Filipino pug, retired on June 6, 1947, after losing to Roy Brooks via a decision in his last fight held before his countrymen, his first on local soil since leaving the country for Singapore in 1935 where he fought 27 times before migrating to Australia six years later.
Young Frisco called Perth in Western Australia his and his family's home for 24 years until his death on May 13, 1966. Married to Burmese Doreen Phyllis Cole, the union bore two children, Wendy and James.
All throughout his boxing life, Young Frisco often mentioned to his siblings his ardent desire to be recognized as a Filipino. Having based in Singapore for almost half-a-decade and Australia for 24 years, he was always introduced as a Singaporean or later in his career, Australian in social gatherings and during fights, recalled son James, a Manila visitor two weeks ago, as relayed to nephew Nicolas Morris.
"Kapag ini-introduce daw siyang Singaporean or Australian, sumasagot daw ang Lolo namin, no, I'm a Filipino and the Orient welterweight or middleweight or light-heavyweight champion as the case maybe," Morris said during last week's SCOOP On Air radio program aired over DZAR.
Eusebio's remains were laid to rest in the Roman Catholic portion of Karrakatta Cemetery in West Australia.
Young Frisco fought 62 times from the bantamweight division, winning 29, six of them via stoppage, while drawing in two. One of his most memorable fights was against Cecilio Overall for the Australian light-heavyweight championship held at the West Melbourne Stadium in Victoria on August 1, 1942 when, trailing on points, rose from the dead to catch the defending champion with a vicious left to the jaw in the last minute of the 15-round title scrap, knocking him out for good.
Overall, Cec as he was known in boxing circles, was operated on the following day to relieve cerebral pressure but never regained consciousness.
Considered as one of the hardest hitting middleweight of his era, Young Frisco fought some of the best in his class, including world-ranked Atilo Sabatino of the United States.
He was a sensation in Australia, beating all top boxers from that country, including world no. 4 Jack Johnson and Ron Richards, the latter a three-division kingpin Down Under back then.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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