Luisito Espinosa was and is a proud and beloved warrior who, like most Pinoys, will never beg for anything?
?I?m happy because I experienced lots of things? If I only had a good manager, I may still be in boxing today.?? Luisito Espinosa
?His story is sad. One time, I read in the papers that Luisito, who personified the Sweet Science in the ring, was reduced to washing dishes in the US, and was becoming fodder for rising stars who wanted an ex-champion on their record.??Writer Mike T. Limpag
??guess what? we were doing our groceries with my fam today at Costco south San Francisco and who do we see at the baggage counter?…. my heart sank when he placed the groceries in the cart when i learned he was working there.??Poster named Honheart
Many Luisito Espinosa stories are titled, ?The Forgotten Legend.? In fact, there are so many, it doesn?t appear Espinosa will ever be forgotten as his story is a compelling, if sad one. Happy ending to boxing stories are as rare as diamonds in the sand. This one is no exception except that it includes just about everything necessary for movie scrip. Corruption (surprise), infidelity, poverty, rags to riches, and riches to rags.
Luisito Espinosa
Luisito ?Lindol? Espinosa came onto the scene after just three amateur fights, turning pro at age sixteen and supporting himself. He quickly began gaining attention during 1987 when he was just 20, going 4-0, including an eyebrow-raising win over popular and teak tough fellow-Filipino Dadoy Andujar.
Style
Always fit and trim and somewhat reminiscent of Alexis Arguello in appearance, he was a brutal body puncher with both hands and had a jab around which he could do many slick things including launching his sneaky and debilitating right hand. He also possessed ring smarts. The following says it all:
There was a time when Luisito Espinosa was magic in the ring, firing bombs from a fighting physique he sculpted from Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson. He danced and shuffled, shifted and slithered and hitting him was like hitting greased lightning? He had natural gifts, tall for his weight which was a big advantage. His lanky body was a whippet he could use to bob and weave, and legs that belonged to a ballroom. He could jab, his left hook was one of the best, and his hands were fast, like twigs suddenly torn by a gale off a tree so they could whip the hell out of you.??Teodoro Benigno, PhilStar OPINION (April 17, 2000)
The Galaxy Knockout (1989)
On March 14, 1988, Espinosa (15-3 at the time) was stopped by Juan Jose Estrada in a bid for the Mexican?s WBC International bantamweight title. The bout was held in Tijuana, Mexico and signaled a fearless willingness on the part of Luisito to go to war in his opponent?s home country. After losing to Yung-Chun Min in South Korea, Espinosa reeled off four straight wins (including three in Hawaii) and then took on twice world champion Kaoker Galaxy (24-1), twin brother of the great Thai Khaosai Galaxy in Bangkok. At stake was the WBA World bantamweight title. Galaxy was coming off a convincing win over Sung-Kil Moon in which he put the tough Moon down twice in the 11th round. Few gave the Manila native (then 21-5) much of a chance against the cocky and skilled Thai.
In the first round, after some feeling out and a lackluster exchange, Galaxy was hit by body shot via a left hook and then a sharp hook upstairs but he kept composed and kept boxing and then, about 20 seconds later, he collapsed totally senseless and totally out. The KO gave new meaning to the term ?delayed reaction,? and was one of the most bizarre fight endings ever.
Thus, at the 2:13 mark of round one, Luisito stunned the boxing world by knocking out the heavily favored Thai champion and becoming the first Filipino world boxing champion in the division. As for the Galaxy twin, he never fought again. The fight happened the same day that an earthquake struck San Francisco Bay area earning him Luisito the nickname ?Lindol? for earthquake
Said George Diaz Smith from Ringside Report.com:
?You would have thought the world was going to be in Luisito?s hip pocket with a championship. On October 16th 1989, Bangkok, stopping Khaokor Galaxy with the identical perfect ?Anchor Punch? that Muhammad Ali called leveling Sonny Liston, only Galaxy had a few more seconds delaying in that fall, and just that abruptly the WBA Bantamweight Title changed hands in Espinosa?s shiny moment.?
Espinosa successfully defend his title as he destroyed Hurley Snead (39-2-1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et1sYGVifHw and Thanomsak Sithbaobay (31-1) before dropping it to Venezuelan Israel Contreras (35-2-1) in 1991.
Lindol then started his climb back to the top, this time fighting under the auspices of Joe Koizumi?s stable. After winning fights in the Philippines, Mexico, and Japan and going 10-1 between 1992 and 1995, the somewhat unpredictable Espinosa beat Tijuana native Manuel ?Mantecas? Medina (51-6) at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo in December 1995 to snag the WBC featherweight crown. It would be the first of two wins over the exceptionally tough and fight-all-comers Medina.
The Streak
Luisito then reeled off seven straight successful defenses of his title by beating Alejandro Gonzales (37-3) in Mexico, Cesar Soto (43-6-2) in Manila, Nobutoshi Hiranaka (16-1) in Japan, Manuel Medina (53-8) in Manila, Argentinean Carlos Alberto Ramon Rios (39-0-1) in Koronadal City, Philippines, Juan Carlos Ramirez (14-0) in Texas, and Kennedy McKinney (33-3-1) in California. The bout with McKinney was a significant one as it was Espinosa?s first fight in front of a national audience (on HBO to be exact). McKinney was coming off of his career best dethroning of super bantamweight kingpin Junior Jones by a stunning fourth round KO. Espinosa was determined to make a statement and did just that as he shockingly dismantled McKinney in two rounds. The bout with Rios would have serious and subsequently tragic consequences for Espinosa.
The End
A possible and much talked about fight with ?Prince? Naseem Hamed never panned out, and in 1999 Luisito lost a controversial decision along with his coveted title in Texas to Cesar Soto (53-7-2) after which he began to fall apart. He lost a TD to Guty Espadas Jr. in Mexico in 2000, though he still showed flashes of his skills and warrior heart; he beat limited Ramon Aragon in Michigan; was stopped by Augie ?Kid Vegas? Sanchez in 2002; somehow KOd tough Ever Belano; was KOd by Zahir Raheem; and then was savaged by Carlos Navarro and Cristobal Cruz in his last two fights.. Four of his losses, all by knockouts, came in his last six fights.
The adored Espinosa kept on fighting to make ends meet, but many of his admirers called for him to retire for his own well-being. Reinforcing this, the California Commission refused to grant him a license until he agreed to a brain test as his skills simply seemed to evaporate in plain sight.
Rags to riches and back to rags
?Espinosa, dubbed King Louie, was the man that set the Philippine sports world on fire, once drawing over 300,000 fans for a defense. Today, Espinosa has become a rags to riches, back to rags story of a Filipino icon, broken, aged, and penniless.??Jason Aniel
Espinosa was a shadow of his former self when he retired in 2005 with a final record of 47-13 after having been used as a human punching bag by Cristobal Cruz in Stockton (aka Fat City), California on February 18, 2005.
Contributing to his downfall were serious managerial problems, a number of issues with wife Marie Cherie, including reports of infidelity and financial chicanery that broke his heart and hastened his downfall. But clearly the most egregious issue involved a $150,000 purse (plus growing interest) from a world featherweight championship bout won over 15 years ago against Carlos Rios in 1997 and still owed him by absconding promoters. The case is still pending before a Manila court.
According to some published accounts, the former business manager of Manny Pacquiao, Rod Nazario, along with Hilario de Pedro and matchmaker Lito Mondejar, are the three men supposedly involved as reported in court documents but I could not corroborate this 100%. At the time, Espinosa was the biggest name in Philippine sports, knocking out the previously undefeated Rios. Once stung, he never fought in the Philippines again, but his story has not been forgotten. See: http://ringtalk.com/philippines-last-ditch-effort-to-save-face
Also see: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20010827&id=EFU1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=bSUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2468,39433311
In the scheme of things, Luisito is another example of a sad ending in the career of a former boxing icon, but at least he has the memory of having faced ten former world champions and of being one himself on two different occasions. The fact is, prior to Manny Pacquiao?s prominence, King Louie was the most famous Pinoy boxer in the late ?80s to mid ?90s, bringing accolades to the Philippines and appearing on the cover of Ring Magazine.
Luisito Espinosa was and is a proud and beloved warrior who, like most Pinoys, will never beg for anything. He is only asking for that to which he is rightfully entitled. He now lives in California and works doing menial tasks at the ironically named Lucky Chances Casino in godforsaken ?Cemetery City? Colma, California. where the dead outnumber the living. He deserves better.
??this case will only serve as a reminder for many Filipinos of why they are disenchanted in their government, which only seems to protect those with money and connections.??Oliver Dailo Suarez (2011)
Ted Sares is a private investor who enjoys writing about boxing. A member of the Elite Powerlifting Federation, Ted is one of the oldest active competitors in the world and recently failed in an attempt to break the world?s record for his age class in the Strict Curl. Follow us on Twitter@boxing_com to continue the discussion
