Lerio prevails; Brin fallen hero

HAVANA, Cuba — Arlan Lerio made up for the loss of younger brother Danilo Thursday night while Romeo Brin absorbed a heart-rending setback against another Cuban fighter but easily won the hearts of local boxing fans as hostilities in the Cordova Cardin boxing championships got underway at the jampacked "Kid Chocolate" Gymnasium here.

Danilo, 20, fighting in the lightflyweight class, suffered a third-round knockdown after getting tagged by a left hook while backing off against Cuba’s Yuriolki Gamboa in taking a 4-12 loss and kissing his hopes goodbye after the opening bout of the seven-nation tournament.

With vengeance in his eyes, Arlan, 24, made short work of Guatemala’s Carlos Lopez whom he stopped 24 seconds left in the fourth and last round. Lopez took his first standing eight count in the final 30 seconds of the third round and two more in the opening minute of the fourth. The referee stopped the bantamweight bout after Arlan connected with another flurry with time running out.

With his victory, Arlan, a veteran of last year’s Sydney Olympics like Danilo and Brin, assured himself of a bronze, actually the second for Team Caltex Philippines after welterweight Reynaldo Galido, who took a first-round bye in the tournament which is part of the Filipino boxers’ preparations for the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in September.

After the Lerios split their bouts, the 26-year-old Brin, a left-handed slugger, climbed the ring tagged as the underdog against Cuba’s Diogenes Luna, a bronze medalist in the Sydney Games and a gold medalist in the world championships also last year in Budapest.

A solid lightwelterweight, Brin mixed it up with Luna in the opening round and got himself in trouble while being pinned in the neutral corner. But everything changed starting in the second round when the Army staff sergeant floored the Cuban favorite with a crunching left straight to the face in the 1:28 mark.

Wobbly and bleeding from the nose, Luna got a big reprieve when the Cuban referee took close to a minute in allowing the ring physician, also a Cuban, to check on his nose. The referee once again stopped the bout with 27 seconds left in the round to check Luna’s gloves, seemingly a ploy designed to give his countryman a chance to recover.

It was a furious third round as both fighters traded heavy blows that kept the huge crowd on their feet. The fourth was no different with Brin pounding the Cuban’s broken nose, forcing the referee to once again halt the fight with 1:15 left. The final bell sounded with the two fighters still slugging it out at the center of the ring, and the crowd cheering wildly.

The final score was 20-all, but the jury, due to the breakdown of the computer system, ordered the five judges — the Philippines’ Darcito Teodoro, a Spaniard and three Cubans — to vote. The result was a 4-1 victory for Luna.

After the referee raised Luna’s right hand in victory, the decision was booed by a big portion of the crowd who felt Brin should have been declared the winner. A scuffle between two Cuban boxing fans even took place in the stands and police had to break it off.

With his gallant stand against one of Cuba’s finest boxers today, Brin became an instant celebrity. Cuban fans gave him a big round of applause as he headed for the lockerroom. While the Filipinos were waiting for the ride back to the hotel, Brin was mobbed by a big group of Cubans who shook his hands, blew kisses and gave him the thumbs-up sign.

"Tanggapin natin, sa kanila na ang panalo pero nakita naman ng lahat kung ano ang nangyari. Ang importante ay maganda ang ipinakita ni Brin. Nagaway-away na nga ang mga fans nila dahil sa nangyari. Hindi na kailangan mag-protesta," said coach Gregorio Caliwan, who is accompanied here by deputies Nolito Velasco and Alex Arroyo.

Brin, who hails from Puerto Princesa in Palawan, was so happy with his performance despite the outcome. "Okay lang. Magaling din naman siya at may pangalan kasi dito pero yung knockdown niya ay dapat nagpanalo na sa akin kung botohan ang ginawa sa dulo," he said.

Team Caltex Philippines, also supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Pacific Heights and Adidas, will have four more of its eight boxers seeing action Friday. They are lightflyweight Violito Payla against Cuba’s Leon Alarcon, featherweight Ramil Zambales against Cuba’s Yunier Barraga, lightweight Joel Barriga against Brazil’s Luis de Sousa and lightmiddleweight Junie Tizon against Cuba’s Fahier Barrera. Galido will fight Saturday.