Filipino boxer Luisito Espinosa was suspended by the California Athletic Commission on Thursday (Friday in Manila) from boxing in the United States until he undergoes a comprehensive medical examination, an ABS-CBN North America News Bureau report said.
“Luisito right now is on suspension nationwide. In order for him to fight in the state of California, he would have to undergo those additional medical tests,” Armando Garcia, the commission’s executive officer, said in a statement.
Garcia said Espinosa should present the doctor’s findings to the commission before the suspension is lifted.
The suspension follows the commission’s decision to cancel the return bout of Espinosa against Mongolian pug Lakva Sim last week. The fight was canceled after Espinosa refused the medical tests ordered by the commission.
Espinosa’s manager Joe Robles said the computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ordered for the boxer would have had a negative effect on Espinosa.
“‘Yung mga ganun, talagang merong epekto sa utak. Mahirap, mahirap. nakakapanghina e. (Those tests have an effect on the brain. It would be hard, it would weaken him.),” he said.
Garcia said the commission is also studying Espinosa’s fight record. It was learned that the boxer was also suspended from fighting in August 2004 after failing to complete medical tests.
‘High-risk’
Garcia said Espinosa’s recent consecutive losses prove that the Filipino pug should now be considered as “high-risk” at age 38. The Filipino boxer last fought in February when he lost by technical knockout to Mexican Cristobal Cruz in Stockton, California.
“He suffered a very hard knockout, he lost consciousness in the fight. And if you see the video, Luisito is no longer the excellent world champion that he used to be. And he is at this point, in my professional opinion, at risk to compete in certain events,” Garcia said.
Espinosa, however, said he is confident that age would not matter in his return campaign. Interviewed by ABS-CBN during a sparring practice, Espinosa said he is not yet ready to turn his back on the sport.
“Trabaho ko ‘to. Hindi ako mawawala, andun pa rin ‘yung kilos ko, talagang ibabalik ko pa rin, andun pa rin talaga (This is my job, I’m not yet ready to retire and I can prove that I can still fight like before),” he said.
Garcia, however, said he does not Espinosa’s immediate return to the ring.
“Espinosa is a tremendous fighter that gave everything he had in the ring. You do not want him to die in the ring. You want to remember him the way that he fought and held the flag up high,” he said.
Critics in California slammed both Robles and trainer Frank Osias for pushing Espinosa to the ring once more. They said that Espinosa is considered too old to tackle younger fighters like Sim.
Robles, however, said he trusts Espinosa to outpunch his foes.
“Hindi ko siya ipasusubo sa taong alam kong matatalo siya o masasaktan siya (I wouldn’t schedule him with an opponent who could defeat or hurt him),” he said.
Espinosa said he also trusted both Robles and Osias in handling his comeback bid. He said he is still willing to return to the ring despite the canceled bout.
Espinosa left Manila in 1998 to campaign in the United States and seek permanent residency. He was granted a green card but was told by immigration authorities to keep on fighting as he acquired residency by way of “special skills.”
