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Philippines, 31 May 2026 |
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SPECIAL SPORTS SERIES: REMEMBERING RP BOXING'S “UNSUNG HEROES” By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Mon, 30 Mar 2020  They never won world boxing championships, some even did not get the chance to fight for one. But during their prime, they were our pambato, our best bet in their respective divisions who carried with them our hopes for international glory in the square arena of professional boxing. They more than held our fort here in Asia but also served as the spearheads or the lead scouts for soon-to-come invasion by future Filipino boxing superstars of the global scene. They failed and fell but their gallant and magnificent fall only served to stoke further the passion of their countrymen for boxing and fortified the resolve of future Pinoy ring campaigners to do even better and eventually to succeed beyond our wildest dreams. Theirs were the stories that personified the Filipino courage, determination and resilience in the face of great odds. Indeed, alas, many of them emerged at times when the reigning world champions ---like now legends Pascual Perez and Eder Joffre--- were seemingly invincible. And as they ventured away from native shores to establish themselves and hopefully, get a deserved crack at the world crown, they most often fell to that scourge called hometown decision. Complicating matters even further, at times they have to fight other top Pinoy campaigners to determine who was the better local bet. In time, they just fade away. To give way to the new generations of Pinoy boxers who will eventually complete what they failed to achieve at the height of their careers. In this issue, we will try to relive and recapture the gallant saga of five Pinoy boxers – Tirso del Rosario, Dommy Ursua, Leo Espinosa, Johnny Jamito and Ric Magramo-who in my books, are our other boxing heroes, our unsung heroes.  Image courtesy of 234fight.com. TIRSO DEL ROSARIO Tirso del Rosario will not ring a bell among many of us Filipino boxing fans now but in the pre-war and the immediate post war-time periods, he was a household name, especially in his native Manila. One could only wonder now how good he could have been had the war not interrupted his otherwise brilliant boxing career. He could have been a world champion. But sadly when he challenged for the world bantamweight championship in only his 5th officially recorded pro fight on December 20, 1947, he lost on points to then future Hall of Famer Manuel Ortiz at the Rizal Memorial Colesium in Manila. Del Rosario was a former student of the far Eastern University when he began his boxing career in the amateur ranks. Won the amateur flyweight championship from 1939 to 1940. He turned pro in 1941 wherein he knocked out Little Jamito in Binan, Laguna in his first fight. Most of his earlier fights were not recorded or available records of them might have been destroyed during the war. Officially he was credited with just 14 pro fight but he could have seen action in 11 more fights before he met and beat Speed Cabanela in September 1947 to retain his Philippine featherweight championship in supposedly only his 4th recorded pro fight. He would challenge Ortiz four months later and lose on points despite the fact that Ortiz came in over the weight limit (Record will also show that Del Rosario’s manager waived the limit to allow the title fight to continue) . Del Rosario’s fight resume also showed that in his very first officially recorded pro fight, he fought and lost on points to Jackie Jurich, the Rose of San Jose, California on September 22, 1945 . Jurich, by that time, was already a highly regarded fighter who had engaged our very own Little Dado and Small Montana as well as the legendary British Benny Lynch and American Manuel Ortiz in a series of fights for the world and US continental flyweight championships in the late 30s and early 40s. The following year (1946), Jurich would challenge Ortiz for the latter’s world bantamweight title but would lose by 11th round stoppage. After losing to Jurich in supposedly his first pro bout, Del Rosario would proceed to knock out Rustico Orquita in 6th round on February 26, 1947 and poleax King Tut in 2 for the Philippine featherweight championship five months later. He would meet Cabanela in his next fight and knock him out also in four before meeting Ortiz for the first of their two fights. He would recover from that controversial loss to Ortiz by winning his next nine fights against veteran Chinese-American world campaigner David Kui Kong Young (who toted wins over Filipino former and future world champions Little Dado and Dado Marino and had once beaten Ortiz) on points, Manuel Anduha (by 8th round KO), Cabanela this time on points, Baby Martinez, Jagir Singh and Star Naven, all by KO, Dado Marino twice ( first by 5th round TKO and the next by points decision) and Cecil Schoonmaker on points between March 1948 to March 1950. Before 1950 was over, he would fight the rising Bonnie Espinosa twice, holding him to a draw on the first and losing the next by 5th round knockout on December 20, 1950 exactly on the day and at the scene of his failed world title try versus Ortiz three years back, the Rizal Memorial Colesium. But Del Rosario made sure that he will not go out without a bang. After staying away from the ring for nearly half a year, he would return for a last hurrah proceeding to exact revenge at the great Manuel Ortiz, beating him on points before thousands of still adoring fans at the same Rizal memorial Colesium on June 2, 1951. After that, Del Rosario graciously bowed out of boxing. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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