Ceferino Montano Garcia (August 26, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was a champion boxer born in Naval, Biliran,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He holds the most victories ever achieved by a Filipino boxer and is also the only boxer from the Philippines to become world champion in the middleweight division. Garcia is commonly credited to as the first well known user of the

bolo punch A bolo punch is a punch used in martial arts. The bolo punch is not among the traditional boxing punches (jab, uppercut, hook and cross). ''Bolo'' is a Filipino single-edged knife similar to the machete. The primary use for the bolo is clearing v ...

, which was later popularized by Cuban fighter

Kid Gavilán Gerardo González (January 6, 1926 – February 13, 2003), better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a Cuban boxer. Gavilán was the former undisputed welterweight champion from 1951 to 1954 having simultaneously held the NYSAC, WB ...

. He was inducted into the

Ring Magazine Hall of Fame ''The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922. In 1954, the magazine established its own boxing Hall of Fame and inducted 155 members before it was abandoned after the 1987 inductions. Boxing inductions continue through the International Boxing ...

in 1977 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1989.

Early life

Ceferino Garcia was the son of Fortunato Garcia and Pascuala Montano and was the oldest of six children. He never completed first grade and indulged rather frequently in gambling. At 17, he was feared by so many that nobody would take him in a street fight. He was also a skilled blacksmith.

Boxing success

While working at a bakery in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Ac ...

, Garcia met a boxing promoter. This was where his career as boxer started. On September 23, 1937, Garcia first had a shot for a world title in the welterweight division. However,

Barney Ross Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II. Early life Dov- ...

bested him by unanimous decision. On October 2, 1939, Garcia fought Fred Apostoli for the world

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title in the United States and won it by TKO in the 7th round. He defended that title three times until he lost to

Ken Overlin Ken Overlin (August 15, 1910 – July 24, 1969), was an American-born middleweight boxer who fought professionally from 1931 to 1944, compiling a record of 131 wins (23 by knockout), 18 losses, and 9 draws. He took the World middleweight champi ...

on points. He was managed, during the final years of his career by George Parnassus.

Life after boxing

After retiring from the ring he made a few uncredited appearances in Hollywood films with the exception of "

Joe Palooka, Champ ''Joe Palooka, Champ'' is a 1946 American film featuring the comic-strip boxer Joe Palooka. This film from Monogram Pictures is the beginning of a series with eleven sequels: * ''Gentleman Joe Palooka'' (1946) * ''Joe Palooka in the Knockout ...

" in which he plays himself. He was also employed for a time by actress

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

as her chauffeur and bodyguard. During the 1930s and 1940s, Garcia lived on 1042 S. Rowan St., in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Garcia died on January 1, 1981 while in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. His grave is located at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The Nor ...

.''The Freeman''
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Professional boxing record

Boxing Hall of Fame

Filipino Hall of Fame Boxers

References

External links

** {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Ceferino People from Biliran People from Tondo, Manila 1906 births 1981 deaths Middleweight boxers Sportspeople from Manila Boxers from Metro Manila Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Filipino male boxers Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees