Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire and the Greatest Filipino Boxers of All-Time

Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire have the boxing world at their fingertips. The fact that both of these men are Filipino is something that usually doesn't happen.

There have certainly been great Filipino boxers, as you will see in this slideshow, but to have two of them at the top of the pound-for-pound list is something special.

Almost all of these fighters fought in the lower weight divisions and, quite frankly, the bottom half of this list isn't very good. To find 15 good Filipino fighters wasn't easy, but, hey, somebody has to be at the bottom, right?

Well let's get to the best Filipino fighters that you have ever heard of and some you haven't heard of.

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No. 15: Danny Kid/Kid Danny (43-34-14 14 KO)

I told you somebody had to be at the bottom and the honor goes to Danny Kid. He just barely got this spot, but he held some minor trinkets and that is why he was here.

The record isn't pretty, but he held the GAB flyweight title, OPBF flyweight title, Japanese bantamweight title and the North American bantamweight title. He did all of this despite having no power, as he only scored 14 knockouts in 43 wins.

I am downright shocked that I found a picture of him.

No. 14: Pedro Adigue Jr. (36-21-7 15 KO)

We get to the first champion on our list in Adigue. He wasn't champion for very long, however, as he defeated Adolph Pruitt for the WBC light welterweight title in December and lost it back to him in February.

This was notable because it was the first time the light welterweight title had been split. He also held the GAB and OPBF lightweight titles and the OPBF light welterweight title. He did fight for the WBC title again after losing it, but he lost a 15-round unanimous decision.

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No. 13: Bernabe Villacampo (34-22-5 22 KO)

We move onto another champion who only held the title for a short time with Villacampo. He held the WBA flyweight title for six months, but he lost it in his first title defense.

He also challenged unsuccessfully for the WBC flyweight title. He held the OPBF and GAB flyweight titles.

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No. 12: Rene Barrientos (39-7-2 14 KO)

The first fighter on this list who brings a fairly pretty record to the table, Barrientos was the WBC super featherweight champion, but he was also unable to hold onto it for more than one defense.

He challenged for the unified WBC and WBA super featherweight titles, but he drew with the champion over 15 rounds. He fought for and lost another bid to regain his WBC title.

He also fought for the OPBF title, but he lost to fellow list-member Pedro Adigue Jr. He did hold the Philippines super featherweight title.

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No 11: Luisito Espinosa (47-13 26 KO)

The first two-weight champion clocks in at the No. 11 spot. Not only did Espinosa hold titles in two different weight classes, but he fought over a very long period of time.

His career spanned 21 years and he was usually fighting the best out there. He won the WBA bantamweight title in 1989, and defended it two times before losing it and then moving up in weight.

Four years later, in 1995, he won the WBC featherweight title and defended it seven times before losing it. It was the last time he would hold the title even though he challenged to regain it.

Four of his losses came in the 2000s when he really shouldn't have been fighting.

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No. 10: Gerry Penalosa (55-8-2 37 KO)

This was a tough one for me because I personally love Penalosa, but I didn't want to put him up too high. I think that the No.10 spot is the right one and if you disagree, tough nuts, because this is my list.

Penalosa won the WBC super flyweight title in 1997 and defended it four times before losing it. He moved up in weight and captured the WBO bantamweight title 10 years later in 2007.

The fact that he went 10 years between title reigns should tell you what kind of fighter he is. People may think he wasn't good enough to win a title for 10 years, but the truth is he fought the best out there and came up short a few times.

During the 10 years between title reigns, he challenged for the WBC super flyweight title twice and the WBO super bantamweight title. He defended his WBO bantamweight title once before losing it to someone called Juan Manuel Lopez.

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No. 9: Nonito Donaire (26-1 18 KO)

We now go to one of the hottest young boxers in the sport and one who may have shot himself in the foot. But that is another matter all together.

Donaire burst onto the scene in 2007 when he scored a highlight-reel knockout on Vic Darchinyan and captured the IBF and IBO flyweight titles in the process. He defended both titles three times against good-but-not-great opponents before moving up in weight.

He then won the WBA super flyweight title in 2010 and defended it once before knocking Fernando Montiel into next year and forcefully taking the WBC and WBO bantamweight titles.

You may think this placement is high, but he is already a three-division champion at the age of 26 and my eyes don't lie. The kid is special.

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No. 8: Small Montana (83-25-10 13 KO)

Montana was born as Benjamin Gan but made all of his fame as Small Montana. Montana won the NYSAC world flyweight title with a decision over Midget Wolgast.

At the time, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) had the recognized world title. He defended the title one time before losing it to the great Benny Lynch. This was the first time in 10 years that the title had been unified.

He never won the title again, but he fought for the world bantamweight title once, losing by a third-round knockout.

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No. 7: Little Pancho (44-14-15 8 KO)

Pancho never held the world title, but he did some very impressive things as far as Filipino boxing is concerned. He fought and beat Little Dado (more on him later) four straight times and drew with him one other time.

He also fought and beat Small Montana, and he lost and drew with Midget Wolgast in his 10th and 11th fights. He only won the Oriental bantamweight title and American flyweight titles. He defended the Oriental title one time.

He drew with Little Dado for the world flyweight title (California version) and lost in a bid for the California bantamweight title.

He may have never won a world title, but he did a lot.

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No. 6: Erbito Salavarria (40-11-3 11 KO)

Salavarria won the WBC flyweight title in 1970 and held onto it until 1973. In that time span, he only defended it two times, going 1-0-1. He lost a non-title bout in that span as well.

He then won the WBA flyweight title in 1975, but he only held it until the following year. He defended the title one time before losing it.

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No. 5: Little Dado (46-7-9 21 KO)

I spoke about Little Dado before and boy did his career take off after his first five fights. He opened his career with a win, then he lost four straight fights to Little Pancho. That put him at 1-4 for his career.

If this was the boxing world of today, he wouldn't have gotten within 1,000 feet of a world title, but it was a different time back then and he put a run together.

He then went 45-3-9 over the rest of his career. That is a little bit of a run if you ask me. In those 45 wins, he won the California bantamweight title, world bantamweight title, Hawaii bantamweight title and the NBA flyweight title.

He also challenged Little Pancho for the world flyweight title, but the fight was a draw. All in all, it was not a bad career for a guy who started off 1-4.

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No. 4: Flash Elorde (89-27-2)

Elorde is one of the best super featherweight fighters of all-time. He won the world flyweight title in 1961 and then won the WBC/WBA titles in 1963.

He didn't lose either of those titles until 1967. He defended them five times, moved up in weight twice and challenged the great Carlos Ortiz for the lightweight title.

He didn't win in either of those fights. He also won and defended the OPBF lightweight title while he was the super featherweight champion.

He had two wins over the great Harold Gomes and a win over Ismael Laguna. He also beat Sandy Saddler in a non-title bout while Saddler was the featherweight champion. He lost a return match that was for the featherweight title.

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No. 3: Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2 38 KO)

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 14: Manny Pacquiao looks on at a press conference to promote his upcoming fight with Shane Mosley at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on February 14, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

It was actually very hard for me to put Pacquiao here because he sits one spot ahead of the great Flash Elorde, but I think he deserves it.

He has won titles in just about every weight class you can fight in, from 112 pounds all the way up to 154 pounds. He owns two wins over Mexican greats Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales. He also has wins over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and two over Juan Manuel Marquez.

He has fought in 15 world title bouts, going 11-3-2 in those fights, and they have all been against top-flight opposition. He will have fought in 16 world title fights after he faces Shane Mosley next month.

He is a once-in-a-lifetime talent and honestly could be the greatest Filipino when he retires, depending on who he fights for the rest of his career.

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No. 2: Pancho Villa (80-5-3 23 KO)

Without Pancho Villa, you don't have anybody else on this list. That is a fact, plain and simple. Villa started his career in 1919 and made boxing popular in the Philippines.

It didn't hurt that that he won the American and world flyweight titles. He beat one of the greatest fighters ever in Jimmy Wilde to win the world title and held onto it for two years and defended it three times.

When he beat Wilde, he became the first Pinoy world-title holder and he was a national hero.

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No. 1: Ceferino Garcia (103-27-12 68 KO)

We finally reach No. 1 and, to be honest, there isn't anyone else that could be here. Garcia is the heaviest man on this list, as he was the middleweight champion of the world.

He is the only Filipino fighter to win the title at middleweight and he has the most wins ever by a Filipino boxer, a mark that will probably stand forever.

He fought for the welterweight title before winning the middleweight title, but he lost to a decent fighter named Barney Ross by unanimous decision. He then won the middleweight title two years later and defended it three times before losing it.

He is credited with being the first fighter ever to throw the "bolo" punch. There are some reports that a Filipino fighter used it before him.

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