By Ronnie Nathanielsz
In what may well turn out to be a monumental scandal a former drug addict and hold-upper William Magahin who spent two years in a Quezon City jail is scheduled to battle undefeated American Charles Bellamy on January 13 in Tokyo according to GAB Commissioner Alex Paglumotan.
Paglumotan in an article on the Philboxing.com website said he had a lengthy talk with Magahin and claimed he was "in good shape" and was now "ready to rumble at any given time." However, Magahin’s listed manager Sammy Gello-ani took exception to the claim and made it clear he had nothing to do with the planned fight in Japan reportedly under the Masuo Matsuoka Promotions.
Gello-ani said Magahin’s foster father Roland spoke to him some two weeks ago and requested him to "activate" his adopted son who is 36 years old but Gello-ani told him he had to first start training after getting the required medical clearance from the GAB before anything else.
The chief of the GAB boxing division Dr. Nasser Cruz who was in Cagayan de Oro for a fight card in the city told Viva Sports/Manila Standard today that there was "no request for a medical exam for Magahin and no application for a license." Dr. Cruz said he would take up the issue with commissioner Paglumotan upon his return by Monday.
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Gello-ani also expressed surprise about the report because under the rules imposed by the Japan Boxing Commission only Filipino boxers rated in the top ten are allowed to fight in Japan and since Magahin has been inactive for ten years and hasn’t even been given a license by the GAB there was no way he could fight. The well known promoter said "I am really surprised."
Magahin’s last fight was on January 20, 1996 when he lost the WBF welterweight title by a tenth round TKO to Jaime Lerma at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in a fight where he turned his back on Lerma and gave up, much to the frustration of fight fans who included President Fidel Ramos. Magahin later admitted he was a drug user.
Paglumotan claimed that he and GAB Chairman Eric Buhain "will have a role to play here" stating that they had done "everything to ensure not only the safety and protection of our Filipino boxers to be sent to Japan through this agency but their good chance of winning these fight cards." Paglumotan last May was also instrumental in having the GAB set aside P10,000 in assistance to the penniless fighter who, like him, is also from Iloilo.
Paglumotan's statement about protection of Filipino boxers was scoffed at by boxing people who claimed his actions with regard to Magahin was a clear violation of existing rules and regulations and showed that the commissioner knew nothing about boxing.
