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Philippines, 19 May 2024 |
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THE CONDES CAPER By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 27 Jan 2008  There has been considerable positive response to the efforts of Games and Amusements Board chairman Eric Buhan to intervene directly and decisively in the case of IBF minimum weight champion Florante Condes and to some extent in the case of OPBF junior flyweight champion and WBC No. 2 ranked Juanito Rubillar. The difference that we have noticed is that Condes is a tragic victim of greed and of people who have taken undue advantage of the simplicity and lack of knowledge of the business of boxing even in its simplest form that is evident in a poor boy from Romblon. Rubillar, on the other hand, appears to match his shiftiness in the ring with a rather distressing attitude outside where he appears to drift between one manager and another and make commitments, receive money and fail to honor those commitments. Perhaps we should leave his rather complicated if not nasty case for some other time and pay our attention to the case of Condes which, to a large extent, mirrors the tragedy of boxing. When his supposed manager, former boxer Aljoe Jaro signed a co-manager?s contract with an American of Puerto Rican descent Dante Ortiz it seems obvious that Jaro didn?t read the fine print in the contract he signed for which he received $10,000. Condes? troubles began when he returned home from Jakarta after winning the world title on July 7, 2007 beating Indonesia?s Muhammad Rachman by a unanimous twelve round decision in Jakarta. He discovered that for winning a world title he eventually received a paltry sum of just over $3,000 and that he did not get anything from the $10,000 that Aljoe Jaro was paid when he signed up with Ortiz as co-manager. In fact Condes informed chairman Buhain that from his purse, after 33 percent was deducted for the co-manager?s each of whom siphoned off 16 ? percent, another 10 percent was deducted for the listed trainer, former junior welterweight champion Morris East who didn?t train him even for one minute and was not in his corner when he fought in Jakarta. Out of the balance, Condes alleged that he received a mere fifty percent or effectively some 28 percent of his purse money with Aljoe Jaro deducting 50 percent for various expenses. Fed up with his sad plight Condes in a hand-written note in Pilipino to Buhain said he didn?t believe Aljoe Jaro and wanted out and complained that when he asked for a copy of his contract he was not given one. Condes, in a text message to us said it would have been better if he didn?t win the world title because then at least he kept on fighting and got paid even though the amounts were small. Now, months after winning the world title, he hasn?t fought. On December 5 the uncle of Condes by marriage , Apolinar Valencia who is married to Condes? aunt Loy, wrote to chairman Buhain stating ?we are concerned with the conflict beleaguering his career. From the small town of Romblon he came(to Manila) to make his dream a reality. He trusted people to help his career and so he went one step further by winning a world title.? Stating that Buhain was aware of Condes? problem, his uncle sought an audience saying ?you are the only person, the right person who can make this all clear so that once and for all everything will be put in order because it is Florante?s career that is at stake.? He reiterated what Condes told us and that is he was losing interest in pursuing his career and wanted to go back to the province and become a tricycle driver. Valencia concluded his letter, ?Florante has placed his life, his dreams in boxing. From a simple barrio boy he is starting to make a life great not only for him but also for his family. It is sad to see him used, abused, manipulated and his rights violated. We, his family, have never meddled with his affairs in boxing, but this time we cannot leave him alone in his crisis. Please help him.? Buhain answered the plea for help and began to move, using the powers vested in his office which is under the Office of the President, to protect the boxer. On December 18 Atty. Isabelo G. Tomas, counsel for Condes, said the boxer had sought the services of his law office in connection with the Boxer-Manager Contract entered into between him and Ms. Alice Jaro on 10, June 2005 and implored Buhain to use the ?power and authority? of his Office to ?declare and consider the said Contract as automatically rescinded and terminated for violation of the provisions contained therein.? Atty. Tomas cited provision No.1 which states that Ms. Alice Jaro is under obligation to ?take charge, look after and managerial (sic) matter concerning Mr. Condes? boxing career.? It also provides that ?if the manager fails to secure a bout over a period of one year for Mr. Condes, this Contract is deemed automatically terminated.? He claimed that Ms. Jaro did not comply with the contractual provisions and that she executed a Special Power of Attorney in favor of her husband Aljoe Jaro empowering him to carry out the manager?s obligations. The lawyer claimed that her attorney-in-fact ?assigned? her interest in the contract to a foreigner, Mr. Dante Ortiz, by entering into an Exclusive Management (Co-Manager, Trainer and Boxing Fighter) agreement? on Septemner 16, 2006. Ortiz told us that contract was signed in the kitchen of Aljoe Jaro?s home. Atty. Tomas alleged that the assignment of Ms. Jaro?s interest in the contract is a violation of Provision 7 of the contract between Condes and Ms. Jaro which he said was ?also a ground for terminating the contract.? He alleged that in consideration for the agreement Ortiz paid Aljoe Jaro $10,000 and that P200,000 was ?intended to be paid to Condes? but that Jaro ?never gave this amount to Condes.? There is a nagging suspicion that Aljoe Jaro signed up with Ortiz and received the $10,000 because he was not confident that Condes would win in Jakarta and become a world champion. Atty. Tomas once again cited the failure to give Condes his share as a violation of the contract which states, in part, that ?any anomaly, irregularity or dishonesty committed by the manager under and by virtue of this contract shall be a valid cause for the termination of the contract.? Based on the allegations, Condes lawyers requested chairman Buhain to ?withdraw the imprimatur of your good Office? to the Boxer-Manager?s contract and to ?declare the same as automatically terminated and without force and effect.? Chairman Buhain revealed that Aljoe Jaro had responded to the claims made by the lawyer of Condes but we were unable to obtain a copy since Aljoe Jaro left for the United States because of the scheduled fight of Bernabe Concepcion. During several conversations with Condes at the GAB office it was patently clear that he was a humble, soft-spoken and simple young man who hadn?t even grasped the meaning of being a world champion contrary to the claims of burly Morris East that he was arrogant and big-headed. It was clear during the meetings with chairman Buhain that Condes who was accompanied by his uncle and aunt and a sister who stayed in the background and their lawyer, Atty. Edgar Padernal, merely wanted to fight and defend his title and wanted to be with family and people he could trust. IBF president Marian Muhammad who was apparently being appraised by Ortiz of what was happening in the Condes case sent us an emai in which she bluntly remarked ?something should be done because these boxers are exploited enough and we have to step up to the plate and go to bat for them.? Aside from reports that Condes was being largely short-changed in terms of the money due him, the IBF president was obviously angry over the fact that Aljoe Jaro was holding Condes? championship belt and wouldn?t give it to him along with several of his other belts. She made it clear that the belt was ?purchased for Condes when he defeated Rachman. It is the personal possession of Condes as a recognition of his accomplishment in the ring. It should be returned to him post haste. Someone should come to the aid of Condes to have his possession returned to him.? The assistance of Chairman Buhain and the support of the IBF were welcomed by Condes and his guardians. Indeed one of the boxer?s happier moments was when he went to the US Embassy to obtain his visa. When he showed the consular officer who interviewed him his press clippings his face lighted up. The consular official then called the staffers and said ?this is the IBF world champion. The Little Manny Pacquiao.? Condes was overwhelmed by the reception and the kindness with which he was treated. It was only then that he slowly began to grasp what it was like to be a world boxing champion. Another bit of welcome information in a somewhat troubled time was that the IBF had granted him a four week medical extension based on the documents submitted by chairman Buhain on the examinations conducted by GAB physician Dr. Redentor Viernes which effectively validated the findings of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jerry Reyes last Friday after an x-ray and thorough examination at his clinic in Taytay. Condes was found to have a severe sprain of the right wrist and a strain of the left upper back. The doctors recommended four weeks rest and the IBF agreed to give the champion a four week extension. IBF Championship Committee chairman Lindsey Tucker told us that the medical extension meant that the February 16 voluntary title defense against Raul ?Raiyto? Garcia in La Paz, Mexico was off and that instead Condes would next face a mandatory title defense. Since he won the title on July 7, 2007, his mandatory originally fell on or before on April 7, 2008 or after nine months. However, Tucker said that since he had been granted a four week medical extension the mandatory defense falls due on or before May 7 and that Condes would be notified about who his mandatory challenger will be by March 7. It was also stipulated that Condes cannot take another fight after he is notified of his mandatory on March 7. This clearly opened the possibility of negotiations with the challenger for the fight to be held in Manila which Buhain indicated was a real possibility. To Condes and his family, it was the best news in a long time. In an email to us, Larry Valencia wrote, ?definitely he?s happy lalo na kung malalaman nya sa dito gaganapin ang laban.? It seems that this tragedy may, after all, have a happy ending and demonstrate that after years of seeming neglect the GAB, under the leadership of chairman Eric Buhain plays its role in protecting our boxers from exploitation. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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