By Ronnie Nathanielsz
The scandal in boxing unearthed by Viva Sports/ Manila Standard Today which discovered that a Filipino boxer had masqueraded as Tata Polinar and was knocked out in the fifth round by WBC Asian Boxing Concil super flyweight champion Medgoen Singsurat (3K Battery) in a title fight in Saraburi, Thailand last May 27 has been solved.
Cebu boxing manager and promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud revealed that Japanese boxing manager, matchmaker and journalist Joe Koizumi had sent him a videotape of thefight which he forwarded to Games and Amusements Board boxing division chief Noli Flores. Koizumi sent Salud the tape since Polinar was training at Salud’s gym in Cebu at the time of the alleged title fight in Thailand and was scheduled to clash with Manabu
Fukushima on June 4 in Tokyo and Koizumi had been placed in a bad light because of the story.
The real Tata Polinar eventually cleared his name and was allowed to fight in Japan but was knocked out in the third round. Salud identified the fake Tata Polinar as Joel Avila who had “long retired” and had no Games and Amusements Board license. WBC official and Bangkok Post columnist Edward Thangarajah earlier reported that Avila was initially three pounds over the 115 pound limit and after two hours in a sauna, running and skipping rope was unable to make the
weight.
Thangarajah was also fooled by Avila and his trainer. He revealed that Thai matchmaker Panya Prachakorn who claimed to have made a deal with trainer Benny Dela Pena showed the WBC official a photocopy of the passport of Polinar in an effort to prove that the boxer who fought Medgoen was indeed Polinar.
It was reported that Avila was accompanied to Thailand by another trainer Pablo Leonardo. The reports from Thailand indicated that Dela Pena and Leonardo were both working for unlicensed matchmaker Bong Obero. Obero has a questionable reputation in boxing circles and is known for sending unlicensed boxers to Thailand in particular, with the connivance of matchmakers such as Panya. Panya himself was banned from Japan because of his unscrupulous activities which included sending fake fighters even for regional title fights.
Salud said “these people have done this so many times making use of the fact that you don’t need a visa to travel to Thailand and they don’t pass the GAB.” However, Manila Standard Today was informed that some of these activities were done with the alleged connivance of GAB officials. Polinar’s manager Yolly Alfante said “I cannot tolerate this any longer because these people are doing this over and over again. I will wait for the tape and other evidence and will sue everybody responsible.”
In what was considered a weak response to the scandal GAB boxing division chief Noli Flores said he would “send a letter to those involved” to shed light on the incident.
