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Philippines, 25 Mar 2025 |
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Pete Sarmiento: A Fighter in the Ring to the Waterfront By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Fri, 07 Mar 2025  Pete Sarmiento never played it safe. In the ring and in life, he went all in, never thinking too far ahead. He was relentless— a human buzzsaw who never clinched, never backed down. But boxing is a cruel business. It gives little and takes everything. Pete had his Marlon Brando moment—but unlike Terry Malloy, he was a contender. He fought the best, beat world champions, and left his mark on the fight game. But the breaks didn’t come his way. The money disappeared. The sport moved on without him. And like Brando on that cold, unforgiving dock, Pete must have looked back at it all— the glory, the missed chances, the hard fights that paid too little— and thought, “I was a contender… I was somebody.” And he was. The record books may not tell his full story, but those who saw him fight never forgot. Pete didn’t need a world title belt to prove what he was. He fought. He endured. And in the end, he was exactly what he was meant to be— a fighter, through and through. By the time he was done, he had fought over 300 battles, beaten four world champions, and made around $300,000. And just as quickly, it was gone. He spent it, lived fast, and never made excuses. "I forgot to duck," he liked to joke about his only KO loss, a first-round knockout against Tony Canzoneri in 1927. But the hardest punches weren’t the ones he took inside the ropes. The sport moved on without him. He spent his last boxing days fighting for scraps, taking matches he knew he shouldn’t have. But what else was there? Then, with the same toughness that made him a feared bantamweight, he traded his gloves for a job at the docks. No lights, no crowds— just hard work, honest pay, and a different kind of fight. Damon Runyon, the legendary sportswriter, wrote to him in 1942: "Am glad to hear you are in the shipyards as work of that nature is a highly patriotic contribution to the war effort." That was Pete Sarmiento— a fighter in and out of the ring. 
Source: The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) • Mon, Jun 1, 1925 • Page 9 The Rise of a Street Fighter Pete didn’t grow up in a boxing gym. He grew up in the rough-and-tumble streets of Manila, where there were no rules, no referees— just fists and survival. "I fight and punch them in the street or some place," he once told Tan Wee Eng, a boxing reporter from Singapore. No amateur career. No polished trainers. Just instinct. Just pure grit. By day, he worked as a streetcar ticket collector. By night, he punched bags and sparred in a gym, figuring out how to turn street fights into something that paid. One day, a promoter gave him a shot— a four-rounder at the Olympic Stadium. Pete didn’t hesitate. The fight was wild— non-stop action, a war from start to finish. The press gave him names: "Typhoon," "Pinwheel." The fans couldn’t get enough. Pete never took a step back. His early career was a blur of knockdowns, slugfests, and sold-out venues. He fought Macario Villon for the featherweight title. He took on Jerry Monahan, an Irish U.S. Army lightweight champion. And he went to war with the great Francisco Guilledo— better known as Pancho Villa— for the Oriental bantamweight title. It was a brutal 15-round battle. Villa won, but Pete made him work for it. "You are the only one who gave me a blue-black eye," Villa told him. Pete smirked. "I got one too." By 1922, he had done all he could in the Philippines. It was time for bigger fights. Time for America. Taking on the World Pete made his U.S. debut in Seattle, quickly becoming a fan favorite. He didn’t box pretty— he brawled, pressed forward, and fought until one man dropped. He took on all comers— champions, contenders, and hungry young fighters looking to make a name at his expense. He beat four world champions—Joe Lynch, Abe Goldstein, Eddie “Cannonball” Martin, and Charley Phil Rosenberg. Some fights were official. Others weren’t. Back then, boxers fought in unsanctioned bouts that never made the record books. Pete fought anyone, anywhere. By the time he was done, he had stepped into the ring more than 300 times— a number unheard of today. And he made money. A lot of it. By the time his career wound down, he had earned around $300,000. A small fortune in that era. But it didn’t last. Like so many fighters, he never learned to hold onto his winnings. He spent freely, lived fast, and never looked back. He had nothing left when the last bell rang. But he wasn’t the type to sit around feeling sorry for himself. Tan Wee Eng summed it up best: "Most boxers retire poor, but at least they have their memories. That is, if they still remember." Pete had no money left. But regrets? That wasn’t his style. 
Damon Runyon: A Friend in the Fight Game Boxing is a lonely sport. Fighters come and go. Managers take their cut and move on. Promoters cash in and find the next rising star. But Damon Runyon was different. Runyon had been the sports editor for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and had a soft spot for tough guys like Pete. They met in the golden years of West Coast boxing, when Filipino fighters were lighting up the scene. Runyon admired Pete’s style— never clinching, never stalling, always pressing forward. He called him the best “club fighter” of his time— a man who gave the crowd their money’s worth. Even after Pete’s fighting days were over, Runyon never forgot him. In a 1944 column, he wrote: "Sarmiento was a bantamweight, the smallest of the ring divisions, but he was a buzz saw in action, noted for the fact that he never clinched. He licked four world champions in non-title bouts— Joe Lynch, Abe Goldstein, Eddie (Cannonball) Martin, and Charley Phil Rosenberg—fought upward of 300 battles, made perhaps $300,000, and spent it all. He reports no regrets." When Runyon died in 1946, Pete was one of many in the boxing world who truly mourned him. He scribbled a short note about his old friend: "Damon Runyon was Sports Editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He was very good to me. Very sorry. He passed away." Pete didn’t have much left from his fighting days— not his money, not his youth— but he never forgot the ones who treated him right. No Regrets By the time he retired from the docks in 1970, Pete had spent eight years as a longshoreman in San Pedro, California. He was well-liked, even serving as Sergeant-at-Arms for ILWU Local 13. His farewell message in The Dispatcher newspaper was classic Pete: "We had lots of fun— playing cards during lunchtime and joking on the job. I always loved to work with you wise guys. I will miss you all now." "You call me a Dog Eater, and I call you all punchy and double ugly. Because I am a handsome Filipino Clark Gable." Lank Leonard, the famous sports cartoonist, once wrote about fighters like Pete: "There is no substitute for a fighter’s heart. Not money, not fame. If he has it, he will always fight, one way or another." He may not be on every all-time great list. But for those who saw him fight, who knew what he gave to the sport, he was something better than famous. He was Pete Sarmiento. Sources and Recommended Readings: • Special thanks for their kind assistance to Christina Moretta (Photo Curator, Acting Manager) and Lisa Palella (Library Technical Assistant II) at the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library • Credit: Banner Photo of Pete Sarmiento is from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin (Photo Morgue, San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library) • Pete Sarmiento, by Tan Wee Eng, International Boxing Research Organization, Newsletter # 20 Volume IV, No. 2, October, 1985 • The Brighter Side, by Damon Runyon (Idaho Daily Statesman (Boise, Idaho) • Wed, Jan 6, 1943 • Page 4) • All photos and references in this article are properly attributed and comply with the U.S. Fair Use Doctrine Click here to view a list of other articles written by Emmanuel Rivera, RRT.  |
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