They call him “The Gentle Giant”. He stands only 5 feet and 11 inches but fans look up to him not because of his size and admirable physique but because of his gentlemanly behavior and good manners in and outside his residence.
I’m referring to Rev Santillan, the 28-year old crownholder of the Orient Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) welterweight class who was (re)introduced to me last Monday, December 19, by boxing referee-judge cum journalist Alex Vidal at the Office of the Governor when the soft-spoken knockout artists from Brgy. Tacas, Jaro, Iloilo City, paid a courtesy call to Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr. accompanied by his spiritual adviser Jack Hall from Florida, USA.
Santillan arrived at the governor’s office ten minutes ahead of a 10 o’clock appointment with Gov. Tupas unnoticed. Nobody recognized the lanky former gold medalist in the Philippine National Games (PNG) who was clad in jeans and a signature t-shirt.
After a brief introduction, I immediately asked Santillan for a souvenir photo.
I then recalled that he was the same then skinny 19-year old Santillan introduced to me by Alex when we were still with Sun Star Iloilo (Alex was the editor-in-chief while I was the senior reporter) in the late 1990s.
If my memory will not betray me, Santillan was then egging Alex to help him get an employment as janitor! Whew! He submitted a bio-data and Alex gamely accepted and kept it in his drawer.
He then tapped Santillan’s shoulder and asked him to be patient as Alex was cooking something great for the career of the soon-to-become world class ring warrior who was a former stevedore at the Muelle Loney in Iloilo pier. The rest is history.
That was my brief recollection of the Gentle Giant who is now the toss of the boxing community in the Oriental Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Guam, Thailand, Philippines, Fiji, Japan, Korea).
In December 3, this year, Santillan conquered Tokyo, Japan when he dethroned the world rated Kazuhiko Hidaka by knockout in the 8th round to grab Hidaka’s OPBF title before a horrified partisan crowd. He is now earning a purse equivalent to the price of a brand new Isuzu elf per fight.
GMA-7’s “Pinoy Abroad” wasn’t there to chronicle the historic event as it did in March this year when it covered Santillan’s fight in the same city where he lost to the same Hidaka also by knockout.
Santillan is now rated in the world and is ready to fight for the world title anytime.
According to Alex, Hidaka was brought to his dressing room on a stretcher. When efforts to revive him proved futile, the Japanese boxer was rushed to the hospital.
Santillan comes from a humble beginning. His story is a case of a poor boy who dreamed big; who beat the odds through sheer diligent and discipline.
He doesn’t smoke nor drink. Somebody, he will become a world champion.
