MANILA, Philippines — A “boxing syndicate” engaged in the illegal trafficking of Filipino boxers into neighboring countries as well as unscrupulous Thai boxing officials are to be blamed for the untimely death of Filipino fighter Angelito Sisnorio Jr. in Thailand on Saturday.
Games and Amusements Board chair Eric Buhain told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Tuesday that the main operator of this syndicate is a certain Bong Obero, who is widely known in the local fight scene as the man who sends the most number of boxers to Thailand, Indonesia and even Australia.
At the same time, Buhain accused Thai authorities of disregarding an agreement, reached during previous boxing conventions, banning Filipino boxers with no clearance from the GAB from fighting in Thailand.
“The people who influenced (Sisnorio) to fight in Thailand should be blamed for his death,” Buhain said. “At the same time, the Thai officials, including the promoter, who allowed the fight should be held responsible.
“I had interviewed 11 people whom I suspended last year, and Bong Obero’s name had been mentioned by almost all of them,” Buhain said.
Buhain also said that a certain Thai national named Panya facilitated and arranged Sisnorio’s fight against former World Boxing Council flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul.
The GAB chair declined to say what legal action the agency is planning to file against Obero, who has reportedly made himself scarce.
Sasakul knocked out the San Jose, Koronadal City, fighter in the fourth round of their eight-rounder featherweight bout on Saturday.
Sisnorio collapsed hours later and was brought to the hospital. He reportedly died due to internal hemorrhage in the brain.
A GAB official said they are also looking into the culpability of Gemmel Contayoso, the Kidapawan City-based registered manager of Sisnorio.
Obero, who is said to be from Negros Oriental province, “uses different passports in an effort to elude possible blacklisting at the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and Bureau of Immigration,” according to a GAB source.
Buhain said that Obero, an unlicensed matchmaker, convinced Sisnorio to fight in Thailand despite the absence of a GAB permit.
Sisnorio, Buhain added, may have lived in a housing facility said to be owned by Panya for boxers brought over by Obero.
The same source pointed out that Obero used to own a girlie bar in Manila where he wined and dined local boxing officials.
Buhain admitted that Thai officials could still ignore the rules by turning a blind eye on Filipino boxers not cleared by the GAB.
“What can we do if Thai officials continue to disregard the agreement that we’ve made?” he said. “One of the problems that we see is that Thai boxing officials are private individuals while we, at the GAB, are public servants.”
