The manager of the Filipino boxer who died after being pummeled unconscious by a Thai boxer last Friday denied he was reponsible for sending the fighter to his death.
At the same time, the Games and Amusements Board, the agency responsible for approving and determining the fitness of Filipino boxers before they are allowed to fight abroad, said it had no idea how Lito Sisnorio was able to leave the country without its knowledge.
Sisnorio’s body remains unclaimed in a Bangkok hospital until yesterday, but Thai boxing promoter Virat Vachirattanawong has promised to shoulder the transfer of the body to Manila as soon as he meets with officials at the Philippine Embassy.
Sisnorio collapsed a few hours after suffering a fourth-round knockout to ex-World Boxing Council flyweight king Chatchai Sasakul on Friday in Samat Prakan but expired at 9:15 p.m. the next day owing to head injuries.
Gemmil Contayoso, said to be the manager of Sisnorio, denied any participation in the fighter’s last two fights. “The last time I saw him was in December (2006),” said Contayoso from Kidapawan, North Cotabato.
“I am really saddened by his death,” said Contayoso, who said he would have not approved of a fight with the 37-year-old Sasakul. “That’s a mismatch,” he added.
GAB Chairman Eric Buhain yesterday ordered that no Filipino boxer will be allowed to fight in Thailand until such a time that an agreement is forged with Thai boxing officials wherein promoters must first confirm with the GAB if a fighter has been approved for travel.
Kristin Camora, who claims to be a relative of Sisnorio, went to the GAB offices yesterday and asked Buhain for confirmation about Sisnorio’s death.
“We came here to know whether the news is true or not because what we know is that Sisnorio is in Japan and not in Thailand,” said Camora. “And if he is indeed dead, we would like to know when his body is going to come home.”
“This should have not happened,” said Buhain, who blamed the practice of managers and matchmakers of sending boxers to Thailand without the approval of the GAB.
Buhain said Sisnorio had also fought last January 26 in Mae Sot, Thailand. His trip also did not have GAB approval. In that fight, Sisnorio lost in a fourth-round TKO to current WBC fly titleholder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.
Buhain did not say why no action was taken against Sisnorio or his manager despite having learned that he had left without GAB knowledge or approval.
Instead, Buhain blamed Thai promoters.
“Part of the blame should also fall on the Thais for allowing these fighters to fight even without approval from the GAB,” said Buhain.
Even if Sisnorio sought permission from the GAB, he would have not been allowed to proceed since he was coming off three straight defeats, said Buhain.
Going into the Sasakul brawl, Sisnorio, who hailed from Koronadal, South Cotabato, had a win-loss-draw record of 10-5-1 with three knockouts.
Buhain talked with journalist Edward Thangarajah, asking the Thailand-based Sri Lankan to provide details about Sisnorio’s untimely demise.
Dr. Nasser Cruz, GAB boxing division chief, revealed that Sisnorio underwent CT Scan of the brain on Sept. 14, 2005 at the M-Tech Medical Hospital in Makati and was cleared to resume fighting.
Sisnorio turned professional in October, 2003 and immediately racked up nine wins and a draw before being sent overseas to try his luck.
Unscrupulous boxing men have been dispatching boxers to Thailand and even in Indonesia without asking permission from the GAB since the boxers need only plane tickets for them to reach their destinations unlike when they fight in Japan, Korea, Australia, Mexico and the US, where a special visa is required.
North Cotabato Gov. Manny Pi?ol, whose promotional outfit once tapped Sisnorio to fight under his show in Kidapawan, volunteered to fly to Bangkok not only to investigate on what happened but to facilitate the release of the boxer’s body.
