MANILA, 14 November 2003 — Former world boxing champion Luisito Espinosa is training hard for a scheduled fight with Cassius Baloyi for the South African’s International Boxing Organization (IBO) superfeatherweight crown on Dec. 19 in Manila.

The 35-year-old Filipino fighter resides in Pacifica, near San Francisco, in the US.

If the Tondo native beats Baloyi, he would enter the record books as the first Asian to capture three world titles in three separate weight divisions — having previously held the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight and World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight belts.

But in order to attain a feat worthy of enshrinement into the California-based World Boxing Hall of Fame and the rival International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, Espinosa must first secure a parole visa from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

With an I-140 visa approved four years ago for his exceptional ability as a professional boxer and world champion, Luisito is waiting to become a permanent resident.

Buhain Urges Athletes to Give Their Best

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Eric Buhain called on Southeast Asian Games-bound athletes to give their best shots and show their corporate supporters their outpouring of financial assistance would not go to waste.

“This support from private corporations is unprecedented, this has never happened before. The athletes should realize that they should hold on to it for the longest time. They have to stay focused and perform in Vietnam,” said Buhain.

He made the call in the light of some 18 corporations’ 22-million pesos contribution to the RP SEAG war chest. The amount was raised during a pledging session initiated by the First Gentleman’s Foundation last month.

Expected to benefit from this are 85 athletes identified by the Philippine Olympic Committee and PSC as gold medal prospects in Vietnam. Also gaining from the fund are the weightlifters and the bodybuilders, who would finally get some 50,000 pesos worth of “specialized supplements” each aside from the usual multi-vitamins issued by the PSC.

New Roster of Events for SEAG 2005

The Manila Southeast Asian Games in 2005 will mark a new order for the SEA Games Federation as talks among 11 participating countries point to coming up with a standard set of events never before practiced in the Games’ 22 editions, including the scheduled Vietnam event on Dec. 5-13.

Philippine Olympic Committee President Celso Dayrit said the SEAG Federation would be coming up with a decision anytime soon as Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have agreed to the move, which is seen to take away the undue advantage from the host country.

In the past, host countries were given the right to select events and used this to their advantage.

Dayrit said Vietnam, which is hosting this year’s edition, would be the last country to use the old rule, giving the Vietnamese advantage in terms of events to be played in December.

The new rule would also eliminate the old practice of having only two countries taking part in an event, giving them an advantage in the medal count.

Manila Haven for Pro Sports

Saying sports occupies a lofty place in his development program, Mayor Lito Atienza said Manila will do its part in helping amateur athletes strive for excellence. Atienza offered Manila as a possible center for a strong sports development geared to help amateur athletes shine at the highest level.

“We’re pushing for professional sports in Manila. While we continue supporting amateur athletes, we should also consider their future. We’ll not hesitate to conduct sports activities for them at the highest level,” said Atienza.

He also lamented the sad state of amateur athletes who, after serving flag and country, are left with nothing to do.

To start with, Atienza said the City of Manila will begin with sports like table tennis and lawn tennis.

While Atienza wants to open the door for professional sports, he also encouraged schools to give students a strong and effective sports program.

Philracom Expects Cash Windfall

Top officials of the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) have boldly predicted that local horse racing is well on its way to another record-setting year with more than a month left before the end of the racing calendar.

The glowing forecast was made by Philracom chairman Jaime “Jimmy” Dilag and his fellow Commissioners Eduardo Jose, Eduardo Domingo Jr., Vergel Cruz and Rogelio Tandiama, following the release of the racing industry’s overall sales figures for the first eight months of the year, which added up to more than 4.7 billion pesos.

More importantly, Dilag pointed out the single biggest beneficiary of the racing industry’s impressive growth is the national government, which gets a sizable share of the total revenues generated from the conduct of racing.

Through August this year, total government share in terms of direct taxes alone amounted to more than 750 million pesos. More than P1 billion in government revenue was contributed by the local racing industry last year from total industry sales of more than 6.7 billion pesos.

PSC, Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce Sign Pact

The Philippine Sports Commission and the Federation of Philippine American Chamber of Commerce recently forged an agreement that paved the way for the identification and implementation of vital programs and undertakings in the promotion and development of Philippine sports.

PSC Chairman Eric Buhain and FPACC President Yolanda Ortega-Stern signed the Memorandum of Understanding which provides for the exchange of sports technology and training, fund generation, sports education and research, competition and cultural linkaging.

Under the MOU, the FPACC will be named as the official overseas patron of Philippine sports and as an institutional partner of the PSC with the primary role of providing assistance to the government sports agency in the promotion and development of PSC programs, thrusts and projects for the benefit of local sports.

The FPACC, the largest and most influential business organization of more than three million Filipinos in the United States, is composed of 42 member Filipino-American chambers in key cities and states.

Pinoy Athletes Assured Help by Embassy in Athens

The Philippine Embassy in Athens has promised to give its full support to the national contingent during its 16-day campaign in the Athens Olympic Games next year.

“Let us know your needs and we will do everything within our power to provide the necessary assistance,” Ambassador Lourdes Morales assured RP delegation to Athens chef de mission Steve Hontiveros who called on her after the recent Chefs de Mission meeting staged by the Athens Organizing Committee.

Told the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) would surely need help in looking for someone it could appoint as Olympic Attache for the Athens Games, Morales said she can recommend one or two individuals, if requested.

ABAP Also Focusing on Athens Olympics

While the country’s top amateur boxers are flexing their muscles for the Vietnam SEA Games in December, there’s an even bigger, tougher tournament the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines is looking forward to.

Manny Lopez, ABAP president, said that like the forthcoming SEA Games, the country’s hosting of the Asian Boxing Championships in January is also part of his group’s priority list.

The ABC, to be hosted by Puerto Princesa in Palawan, will serve as the first of three qualifying tournaments to the 2004 Athens Olympics for Asian boxers. The two other qualifying events will be held in China and Pakistan.

“While everybody is tuned in to the SEA Games this December, we’re also busy preparing our boxers for the Olympic qualifying event to be participated in by at least 30 Asian countries,” said Lopez.