At this point, there's a very strong argument that Manny Pacquiao is the greatest Asian fighter of all time; however, rather than making my own argument, I'll just present you with some video and key facts, and let you be the judge.
Flash Elorde - 88-27-2 (33 KOs)
Pros:
- First Asian inducted into the IBHOF, in 1993
- Voted by Ring magazine as the 78th best fighter of modern time in 2002
- Arguably the greatest super featherweight of all time, with an eight year reign
- Win over inner-circle hall of famer Sandy Saddler
Cons:
- Never won a title at lightweight or featherweight in multiple attempts
- Win over Saddler was at the very tail end of Saddler's career
- Had about 10 losses, not always to top competition, in what was arguably the prime of his career.
Khaosai Galaxy - 49-1 (43 KOs)
Pros:
- An absolute beast who knocked out just about everyone he faced; had a reputation for being such a brutal puncher that he literally 'ruined' his opponents
- His lone loss came seven fights into his career, meaning he had 43 wins in a row, including 19 title defenses
- Arguably the top super flyweight of all time
- Solid wins over Rafael Orono, Israel Contreras and Ellyas Pical
- IBHOF inductee in 1999, voted by Ring Magazine as the 19th biggest puncher of all time, and the 43rd best fighter of modern time by Ring Magazine in 2002
Cons:
- Never faced many of the other top fighters near his weight class, including Jiro Watamabe and Gilberto Roman (although Watanabe gave up his belt rather than face him)
- Only had four fights with other prior, current or future titlists in his career
- Seven of his title defenses came against fighters with less than 15 fights of experience, several of whom lost the majority of their fights after facing Galaxy
- Only once fought outside of Asia
Fighting Harada - 55-7 (22 KOs)
Pros:
- Handed all-time great Eder Jofre the only two losses of his career
- Lineal champion in two weight classes (and fought for the title in a third) at a time when there were only 8 weight classes
- Fought the best of his era, with all but two of his losses coming against other top level fighters (including a close and disputed loss against hall of famer Johnny Famechon)
- Voted the 32nd best fighter of modern time by Ring Magazine in 2002
- Inducted into IBHOF in 1995
Cons:
- Both wins over Jofre were relatively close and on Japanese soil (although there isn't much controversy that they were fair wins)
- Fought almost exclusively in Japan
- Has a couple of bad losses on his record during the prime of his career
- Career was on the short side for someone who fought in his era, as he retired as soon as he thought he was declining
Manny Pacquaio - 49-3-2 (37 KOs)
Pros:
- Only fighter to ever win lineal championships in four weight classes
- Won titles in six different weight classes
- Wins over future hall-of-famers Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Oscar de la Hoya (and possibly Juan Manuel Marquez and Ricky Hatton)
- 14-2-2 against former, current and future titleholders
Cons:
- Loss against Morales in the prime of his career, and two very close fights against Marquez that a lot of people thought he lost
- Most of the best fighters he faced were past-prime, and de la Hoya was completely shot
- Relatively shorter career compared to the old-timers
- Only 8-1-2 in official title fights
- Fought in an era with four title belts and 17 weight classes
Pancho Villa - 92-8-4 (22 KOs)
Pros:
- First Asian titlist ever, beating all-time great Jimmy Wilde for the flyweight title in New York City
- Probably only scratched the surface of his greatness, as he died at age 24 due to complications from a tooth infection (although some do think he was poisoned)
- Voted the 59th best fighter of modern time by Ring Magazine in 2002
- Mostly fought under circumstances that are now hard to imagine - a foreigner who doesn't speak the language, being transported by train all over the country, usually fighting two or three times a month with no set gym to train in.
- Never knocked out, and was only down 5 times in his career, despite facing several big punchers (Wilde is often lauded as the hardest puncher pound for pound in boxing history)
Cons:
- Relatively short career for his era, because of his death
- A couple of losses to less than spectacular fighters
- Outside of Wilde, Jimmy Buff and Frankie Genaro (who he lost to twice), not as many notable names on his record as some others, though a lot of this is mitigated by the fact that he never had the chance to due to his death