After an absence of over 10 years, former WBA bantamweight and WBC featherweight champion Luisito Espinosa is arriving from San Francisco on March 22 to pursue a collection case and attend the annual Boxing Awards Night organized by the Elorde family.
Espinosa, 40, is still owed about $150,000 by former South Cotabato Gov. Hilario de Pedro for staking his WBC featherweight crown against Carlos Rios in Koronadal in 1997. He intends to go to Koronadal and confront De Pedro who signed a promissory note on the insistence of Japanese manager Joe Koizumi before the fight began.
Now more than ever, Espinosa could use the money. He has been abandoned by his wife Mariecherie and their three children. Espinosa, a green card holder, pays $400 a month for a room in a friend?s house in San Francisco, earns about $10 an hour working in a Costco warehouse and pockets $750 a month training five students at the Third Street Gym.
Espinosa was invited to come home by Johnny Elorde when they met in San Francisco during the Christmas holidays. Elorde brought his family to the US for a vacation. Elorde?s son Mig, who plans to turn pro after graduating from St. Benilde this year, was trained by Espinosa in a one-day workout at the Third Street Gym. An older son, Bai, turned pro last year.
Espinosa ended his ring career on a sour note, losing to Cristobal Cruz on a third round knockout in Stockton, California, in 2005. The defeat prompted the California State Athletic Commission to revoke Espinosa?s boxing license for good. He wound up with a 47-13 record, including 26 KOs.
Since stopping Rios in the sixth round in Koronadal, Espinosa never returned to the Philippines and fought his last 11 bouts in the US and Mexico. He began his pro career in 1984 and is one of only four Filipinos to win titles in two different divisions (the others are Gerry and Dodie Boy Pe?alosa and Manny Pacquiao).
After Espinosa knocks off work in his day job at Costco, he reports to the Third Street Gym at 5:30 p.m. to train five students at a monthly rate of $150 each. The gym is owned by former Golden Glove champions Paul Wade and Simon Redmond who opened the facility in 2003 to cater to schoolteachers, stockbrokers, artists, writers, doctors, businessmen and other professionals.
Espinosa drives a small used car and barely manages to make both ends meet. The problem is his wife, who has custody of two of their three children (one lives in Manila), often demands for support. His wife is reportedly living with another man somewhere in the US.
?Louie deserves more for the honor he brought to our country as a world champion,? said Elorde?s wife Liza. ?He can only take two weeks off from his work and the Elorde family is flying him over to be recognized at the Boxing Awards Night on March 25. Johnny might accompany him to Koronadal to pursue his collection case. A lawyer has offered to collect the purse and is asking for a 50 percent share. We told Louie to accept the lawyer?s offer because it?s better than nothing. He has waited too long to be paid the debt.?
Espinosa has no love interest in the US but is reportedly smitten by a 16-year-old Filipina whom he ?met? in the internet. Espinosa regularly corresponds with the teenager, who lives in the Philippines, via e-mail.
Liza said Espinosa lives a clean life and neither smokes nor drinks.
?Louie told me he was once invited by Manny to join him in a night-out and was promised P100,000,? continued Liza. ?But Louie couldn?t go because of work. He works at Costco in the daytime and in the gym at night. So he?s occupied the whole day.?
