General Santos City is more than a thriving port and tuna capital in the southern Philippines. It has earned a rarer distinction: a city of champions! Gensan earned that title due to its constant ability to breed for world-class boxers and martial artists. From dusty barangay gyms and improvised training spaces have emerged athletes who rose to world titles, international rankings, and Olympic dreams.
Gensan’s boxing culture is not accidental. It is rooted in poverty, discipline, community gyms, and a tradition of older fighters mentoring younger ones. The city’s reputation today is inseparable from the champions who carried its name into rings across the world.
Boxing
Boxing holds significant cultural and social importance City of Champions. After all, city has produced some of the Philippines’ most renowned boxers. The sport fosters discipline, resilience, and a sense of community among the youth, providing a positive outlet that can steer them away from social vices.
Boxing also boosts local pride and tourism, as international competitions and training camps attract attention and investment to the city. Moreover, it inspires the next generation to pursue excellence both in sports and in life.
Manny Pacquiao
No name is more synonymous with Gensan than Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. An eight-division world champion and arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Pacquiao’s journey from a street kid selling bread to a global icon defined what was possible for fighters from Mindanao.
Though born in Bukidnon, Pacquiao honed his craft in General Santos under coach Buboy Fernandez and the late trainer Benigno “Atoy” Neri before being discovered by trainer Freddie Roach. His relentless work ethic, blinding speed, and fearlessness made him a symbol of hope for Gensan’s youth. Pacquiao did not just put Gensan on the map, he made it a pilgrimage site for aspiring boxers.
Rolando Navarrete
Before Pacquiao, there was Rolando Navarrete, one of the pioneers of world-class boxing from Mindanao. Navarrete became WBC Super Featherweight Champion in 1981, shocking the boxing world with his power and aggression.
Navarrete’s success proved that fighters from the southern Philippines could not just compete, but win on the world stage. For many young Gensan boxers, he was the original proof that international glory was possible
Nonito Donaire
Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire spent formative years in General Santos during his youth before moving to the United States. Though later associated with California, Donaire’s early development in Gensan’s boxing environment shaped his fundamentals.
A four-division world champion, Donaire is known for his textbook technique, counterpunching precision, and devastating left hook. His success reinforced Gensan’s image as a place where boxing fundamentals are taught with discipline and intelligence.
Vincent Astrolabio
Vincent Astrolabio represents Gensan’s modern generation of contenders. Known for his grit and punching power, Astrolabio has competed at the highest levels of the bantamweight division, facing elite opposition in world title eliminators and championship bouts.
His career reflects the continuing pipeline of talent coming out of the city’s gyms, fighters who are technically sound, physically tough, and mentally durable.
Dave Apolinario
Dave “Dobermann” Apolinario is one of Gensan’s brightest young prospects in the flyweight division. Apolinario showcases the city’s emphasis on fundamentals, footwork, and conditioning, which led to long undefeated streak that was only broken last year
He represents the disciplined, technical side of Gensan boxing that balances power with ring IQ.
Marvin Sonsona
Marvin Sonsona made history by becoming the youngest Filipino world champion at the time when he won the WBO Super Flyweight title in 2009 at just 19 years old.
Sonsona’s speed and natural talent brought early success and highlighted how raw ability, when discovered in Gensan’s gyms, can quickly rise to world level.
Criztian Pitt Laurente
Criztian Pitt Laurente is part of the new wave of undefeated prospects from General Santos. Known for his sharp combinations and poise in the ring, Laurente embodies the polished style that modern Gensan fighters display, calculated aggression backed by strong amateur pedigree.
He won PBF super featherweight title and PBF super featherweight title
Sonny Katiandagho
Sonny Katiandagho is one of the respected figures in Gensan’s boxing circles, both as a competitor and as a mentor to younger fighters. His presence in local gyms and involvement in developing talent contributes to the continuity of boxing knowledge in the city.
Katiandagho represents the often unseen backbone of Gensan boxing: experienced fighters who stay behind to teach the next generation.
Other Martial Arts
Boxing is not only sport in Gensan. City of Champions has produced champions in other martial arts too.
Jean Pierre Sabido
Jean Pierre Sabido is a highly accomplished Filipino martial artist from General Santos City, Philippines, best known for his prowess in taekwondo poomsae (forms) competition. He began training in taekwondo at a young age in his hometown and steadily rose through regional and national ranks to become one of the country’s most decorated jins (practitioners).
Sabido has competed internationally with distinction, including winning multiple medals in world and Asian taekwondo poomsae championships and helping the Philippines’ team to top finishes in major events. His high technical skill, precision, and consistency have kept him among the top-ranked Filipino poomsae athletes, contributing significant points to national standings.
Robert Joshua Danao
Robert Joshua Danao is a distinguished Filipino martial artist and taekwondo master from General Santos City, Philippines. He is best known as the founder and president of the Dragon Heart Taekwondo Academy, a school he established in 2001 that has grown to operate multiple taekwondo studios across the SOCCSKSARGEN region and beyond.
Danao served for more than a decade as the Regional Director and Chairman of the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) Region 12-A, playing a central role in organizing regional competitions and developing grassroots taekwondo in Mindanao.
Pencak Silat Siblings
The Abad brothers, Alfau Jan and Almohaidib Abad, are prominent Filipino Pencak Silat martial artists hailing from General Santos City. They compete in artistic pencak silat (seni), where athletes perform choreographed routines that blend precision, rhythm, and traditional Southeast Asian martial art movements. The siblings have represented the Philippines in major international competitions, securing multiple medals and elevating the country’s profile in the sport.
Their notable achievements include winning gold medals in the men’s double artistic (Seni Ganda Putra) category at the Asian Pencak Silat Championships and other prestigious events, reflecting their synchronized skill and years of disciplined training
Paul Anthony Rodriguez
Paul Anthony Rodriguez is an emerging Filipino martial artist and taekwondo poomsae competitor from General Santos City, Philippines. He gained national recognition at a young age through his outstanding performances in youth taekwondo competitions.
At just 13 years old, Rodriguez became the first triple-gold medalist at the 2019 Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy (Mindanao leg), winning in the individual, pair, and team junior poomsae events — a testament to his disciplined training and technical precision in forms competition.
Rodriguez has consistently represented Gensan and the Philippines in various regional and national tournaments, earning multiple medals including golds and a silver at the Palarong Pambansa.
Roland Dantes
Not a champion in traditional sense, Roland Dantes was a renowned bodybuilder, actor, and grandmaster of Filipino martial arts such as Arnis, Eskrima, and Kali. He trained for over 30 years under Professor Remy Presas, the founder of Modern Arnis, and studied with other masters including Cacoy Canete and Edgar Sulite, becoming one of the most respected practitioners and promoters of Filipino martial arts worldwide.
Before becoming a martial arts icon, Dantes served as a police officer and built an impressive competitive career in bodybuilding, winning the Mr. Philippines title multiple times and placing in Mr. Universe and Mr. World contests. He leveraged his combat skills and athletic presence into film, starring in both Filipino and international action movies such as The Pacific Connection and Arnis: The Sticks of Death, often showcasing Filipino martial arts on screen
Conclusion
General Santos City’s nickname, “City of Champions,” is not promotional hype. It is earned through decades of fighters who rose from modest beginnings to global arenas. In cramped gyms filled with sweat, discipline, and hope, Gensan continues to shape the next generation of warriors ready to carry its name into the ring.
