MANILA, Philippines ? Filipino boxer Denver Cuello left one of his cherished possessions inside a taxi cab Monday night.
Cuello, a world title prospect, was sulking after realizing that he had forgotten to bring with him the World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver minimum weight title belt when he alighted from a taxi in Cubao, Quezon City.
?I only realized that I had left it when my companion reminded me about the bag I was carrying,? said Cuello referring to the regional titlebelt.
?The bag contained the title belt and a long-sleeve shirt that he wore during a TV shoot,? said Aljoe Jaro, Cuello?s manager, who was also saddened by the incident.
Cuello, 25, who is coming off a victory over Ivan Meneses of Mexico last Sept. 29, blamed lack of sleep and exhaustion as reasons why he forgot to pick up his bag when he jumped out of the cab.
?I couldn?t even remember the name of the taxi I took. I am just hoping that the driver would find a way to return it because I take great pride in having it,? said Cuello.
Cuello had won the WBC Silver belt by bearing Carlos Perez of Mexico on a 12th-round stoppage in October 2011 in Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Jaro said the fighter valued it very much.
Born and bred in Iloilo, Cuello has a 32-4-6 win-loss-draw record with 21 knockouts.
Rated No. 1 by the WBC, Cuello is being groomed to join the elite list of Filipino world champions Nonito Donaire, Brian Viloria and Donnie Nietes.
Jaro, however, told his fighter to forget about the incident.
?I told him why don?t you just win another one??
Jaro said Cuello is ripe for a title shot that it?s just a matter of time before he becomes a world champion.
By then, Cuello would have surely gotten over the taxi caper.
