Philippines, 12 Jul 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Pinoys who shone in UK rings


PhilBoxing.com





LONDON. Four Filipino fighters broke the hearts of English boxing fans when they scored knockouts over hometowners in the UK and three more victimized heroes from the Kingdom in the US.

In 1997, Eric Jamili won the vacant WBO minimumweight crown via an eighth round stoppage of Mickey Cantwell before a stunned partisan crowd at the London Arena. In 1983, unheralded Frank Cedeno halted “Champagne” Charlie Magri in the sixth round to wrest the WBC flyweight title at the Wembley Arena. Referee Angelo Poletti waved it off after Magri was decked thrice by the Talisay, Cebu, southpaw whose left hook was his most lethal weapon. In 2016, IBF flyweight champion JohnRiel Casimero blasted previously unbeaten Charlie Edwards into submission in the 10th round at the O2 Arena. In 2018, Nonito Donaire, Jr. took the super WBA bantamweight title when Ryan Burnett surrendered with an injured hip in the fifth round in Glasgow, Scotland.

Pinoys who beat Englishmen in the US were Pancho Villa, Salvador (Dado) Marino and Manny Pacquiao. Villa, the first Asian world boxing king, knocked out Jimmy Wilde in the seventh round at the Polo Grounds in New York in 1923. Wilde had retired two years previously after losing to Pete Herman but was lured back into the ring with a purse equivalent to $1.25 million in today’s valuation. The Welsh “Mighty Atom” was out cold on the canvas and suffered serious memory loss to the extent that he couldn’t recognize his wife for weeks. Marino, a Hawaiian of Filipino descent, defeated Terry Allen twice on 15-round decisions in world flyweight title bouts in Honolulu in 1950 and 1951. Pacquiao flattened Ricky (The Hitman) Hatton in the second round to capture the IBO and The Ring lightwelterweight belts at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, in 2009.

Two Filipinos who lost to English fighters in world title tiffs in the UK were Rolando Bohol and Donaire. Bohol was dethroned as IBF flyweight champion by Duke McKenzie in the 11th round at the Grand Hall, Wembley, in 1988. Donaire bowed to Carl Frampton on a unanimous 12-round verdict for the vacant WBO interim featherweight crown in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2018, seven months before stopping Burnett.

Magri, now 67, saw action in four more fights after facing Cedeno, losing to Thailand’s Sot Chitalada and McKenzie to end his career in 1986. Today, he’s employed by a housing and regeneration community association as a maintenance cleaner. “The ghost of Magri’s boxing career still visits him today,” wrote Nick Parkinson in the book “A Champion’s Last Fight.” “He’s bitter about not earning more from his success.”

Magri invested in a sports shop and pub but the businesses floundered. He worked for a demolition firm and coached boxing at the school level then became a building cleaner. Magri, battling tax issues, has found it difficult to make ends meet. “It boils down to your own fault,” he said, quoted by Parkinson. “I’m not a business person. Boxers are losers, they go to the gym themselves, they run themselves and when they fight, it’s just themselves in there. They are very lonely people and it’s a hard game. I’m happy in myself but I wish I was better off and have a few quid more. I still get depression. When I won the world title, I got beat right away (by Cedeno).”

Photo: Nonito Donaire Jr (L) defeated Ryan Burnett (R) on Nov. 3, 2018 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland after the Englishman refused to continue due to a hip injury.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Taylor vs. Serrano Trilogy: Can Amanda Get The Nod?
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • BERLANGA-SHEERAZ, STEVENSON-CEPEDA, MORELL-KHATAEV MAKE WEIGHT IN NEW YORK
    By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • Johnny Spell Takes on Chancellor Batttenberg on Saturday, July 19th at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in Washington, PA
    , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • JV Tuazon, Ador Torres, Lemuel De Barbo, Jomar Fajardo Make Weight for Brico Santig's Highland Show in Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Philippine Under-12 Girls Team Shines Bright, Clinches Multiple Medals at 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships in Penang
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Kenneth “Llover Boy” Takes on “El Nica” Concepcion Aug 17 on Gerry Peñalosa’s Show @ the Winford Resort and Casino Manila (Analysis)
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Anthony Velazquez won’t be Boxing’s best kept secret in 2026
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Undefeated Gabriela Tellez Returns July 18 at “Night of Champions” Live on DAZN
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Dushanbe hosts stacked fight card with Bakhodur Usmonov and Christopher Mouafo headlining IBA.Pro 8
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Shakur vs Zepeda & Morrell vs Khataev Fight Analysis
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Peñalosa To Test "Lover Boy" Llover Versus Accomplished Panamanian Veteran Concepcion
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team Begins Brandenburg Cup Prep Camp
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Dream Fight: “Bam” Rodriguez vs “Puma” Martinez on the Horizon
    By Carlos Costa, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Perez vs Vivas Headlines All Star Boxing's Prueba de Fuego Card on July 25
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Christy Martin Promotions & Ringside Ticket Inc. Present ‘Lopez Vs. Vargas’ Welterweight Battle
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Vegas Fight Experience Where Authentic Sparring Meets Cinematic Vegas Energy
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • 4 Division World Champion & Hall of Famer Erik Morales Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • SALITA PROMOTIONS SIGNS FORMER WORLD CHAMPION TONY HARRISON
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • FIGHT EMPIRE! TUAZON, ADOR, DE BARBO, JOMAR, AND MORE ARE READY FOR ACTION IN BRICO SANTIG'S EXCITING SHOW JULY 12 IN THAILAND
    By Carlos Costa, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Shakur Stevenson and David Morrell Face "Crossroad Fights" This Saturday in Queens
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Christy Martin’s “Mayhem in Music City 2” to Feature Undefeated Vic Hernandez Facing Jayvon Garnett for NABA & Jr. NABF Featherweight Championships
    , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • James Perkins & Anthony Andreozzi Headlines “Oceanside Prize Fights”
    , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • GORST PURSUES GOLDEN GLORY IN JEDDAH, DEFENDING WORLD POOL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN SAUDI ARABIA, 21–26 JULY
    , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Hovhannisyan and Barrientes Set for High-Stakes Showdowns July 18 on DAZN
    , Tue, 08 Jul 2025
  • UNBEATEN PROSPECT KENNETH LLOVER TO FACE FORMER TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION LUIS CONCEPCION IN MANILA
    , Mon, 07 Jul 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.