Philippines, 16 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Ignacio Fernandez: The Iron-Fisted Warrior of Silay


PhilBoxing.com





Silay, Negros Occidental, was built on hard work. Sugarcane stretched for miles, and the air smelled of molasses.

Like most kids in Silay, Ignacio Fernandez worked the land. The fields were tough, but he was tougher. His hands told a different story— fast, heavy, made for something else. The elders saw it. They nudged him toward the ring. It wasn’t farming that called him. It was fighting.

A Fighter to Remember

Boxing back then? No tune-ups. No shortcuts. No cherry picking.
Fernandez turned pro in 1925. He took on everyone, everywhere— 147 fights across the Philippines, the U.S., Singapore, and Australia.
His right hand was his calling card.

When it landed clean, it was lights out.


Source: The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) • Sun, Jul 8, 1928 • Page 49

Career at a Glance

• Years Active: 1925–1944
• Total Fights: 147
• Wins: 62
• Losses: 52
• Draws: 20
• Weight Class: Lightweight
• Height: 5’3” (160 cm)
• Stance: Orthodox

Fighting the Best

Fernandez chased tough fighters. It was his thing.
Tony Canzoneri – Future champ, Hall of Famer. Some say Fernandez should’ve gotten the win.
Kid Chocolate – The Cuban star. Fernandez gave him trouble but didn’t get the nod.
Ceferino Garcia – Another Filipino great. They fought in Manila. Garcia took the decision.
Al Singer – Future lightweight champ. Fernandez did what nobody saw coming. He knocked him out cold.

December 20, 1929. Madison Square Garden. The odds were 12-to-1 against Fernandez. Al Singer looked sharp early, jabbing, moving, controlling the fight. Fernandez kept coming. Then, in the third round, it happened.

“Singer was doing all the leading in the third when Fernandez suddenly unleashed a wild punch which caught Al on the jaw and sent him reeling against the ropes. He evaded Ignacio’s rush and clinched. But he was weak. Fernandez threw him off and then swung a left hook to the ribs. Singer lowered his guard and Fernandez crashed a right hook to the jaw. It found its mark. Singer tumbled backward into the ropes. Then he fell forward, face down. It was the end.”

The crowd went quiet…The ref counted…Singer didn’t move…Fernandez had just turned the boxing world upside down.


(L-R) Fidel La Barba, shaking hands with Ignacio Fernandez; at back is Gary Blake and Jesus Cortez, manager of Filipino fighters (Source: The Ring Magazine, Mosquito Fleet, Byline Bill Miller, August 1932)

Making His Mark in America

By the late 1920s, Filipino fighters were making waves in the U.S. Pancho Villa had won a world title. Others, Speedy Dado, Clever Sencio, were proving they belonged.

Fernandez wanted his shot.

At Wrigley Field in Chicago, he knocked out Abe Goldstein, a former champ. Again the boxing world took notice.

There was even talk of a fight with Bud Taylor, the bantamweight champion. His team offered $15,000, big money back then. But it never happened. Some say Taylor’s team backed off. Others say it was bad timing. Either way, the chance was gone.

The Final Years

Time catches up. The reflexes slow. The punches hurt more. By the late 1930s, Fernandez wasn’t the same. The fights dragged on. The shots he used to dodge now landed with ease.

His last recorded fight was in 1944, Singapore. He won by TKO. Then, the newspapers stopped printing his name.

In the end, belts and crowns did not matter to Ignacio Fernandez. What did was the thrill of living and dying with his fists.
Ask the guys who fought him. They knew what it meant to share a ring with Young Fernandez.

Sources and Recommended Readings:

• All photos and references in this article are properly attributed and comply with the U.S. Fair Use Doctrine
• Banner Photo of Ignacio Fernandez and The Ring, August 1932, are from the collection of the Philippine Boxing Historical Society and Hall of Fame
• Ignacio Fernandez Record: https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/10102
• Ignacio Fernandez Record: https://boxerlist.com/en/boxer/ignacio-fernandez/8573
• Al Singer versus Ignacio Fernandez Fight recap: (source: Brooklyn Eagle (New York) • Sat, May 18, 1929 • Page 7)


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Emmanuel Rivera, RRT.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Smarts over power
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Crawford to defy odds?
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.