Piñol’s lament

North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol’s youngest brother Socrates — Soc, for short — is crying out for justice. He claims his lightflyweight fighter Danilo Lerio, Jr. was robbed of a win in a General Santos City eight-round bout against Aling Dinoy last Dec. 21.

It’s been two months since the match and Soc is still griping. He insists he’s not sourgraping. He just wants the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) to establish whether or not Lerio got a bum rap and if the fighter was prejudiced, to straighten out the erring judges.

In pro boxing, a stinking decision isn’t a rarity. Remember the first Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield duel for the unified world heavyweight title in 1999? Lewis outboxed the Real Deal, landing 348 of 613 punches (57 percent) to only 130 of 385 (34 percent) for Holyfield. In jabs, Lewis also had the upper hand, 187 of 364 (51 percent) to 52 of 171 (3) percent). But in a shocking verdict, judge Eugenia Williams scored it 115-113 for Holyfield, Larry O’Connell a 115-all draw, and Stanley Christodoulou 116-113 for Lewis. The fight was declared a split draw, much to Lewis’ justified disappointment.

What about the twin Marco Antonio Barrera versus Erik Morales fights? Barrera should’ve won their first meeting in February 2000 but Morales got the nod. In the rematch last year, Morales should’ve prevailed but Barrera took the decision. Someone forgot to tell the judges that two wrongs don’t make a right. Apparently, the judges made up for their first mistake by committing another one.

Unfortunately, a decision is irreversible unless it is proved beyond doubt that first, the judges were coerced or under duress in the "erring" judges a lesson. "We really felt we were robbed and a lot of people agree with us," he says. "The GAB chairman needs to save boxing by firing erring officials."

The loss was Lerio’s first after three straight wins, all on points. For Dinoy, the upset raised his record to 5-1, with four knockouts.

Lerio was inked to a five-year pro contract by Soc after a checkered amateur career last June. He struck gold at the 1997 Asian Youth Championships in Taiwan and the 2000 Grand Prix in the Czech Republic. Lerio, 21, was a silver medallist at the 2000 King’s Cup in Bangkok and a bronze medallist at the 1998 Cordova Cardin in Cuba, the 1998 Balado Cup in Cuba, and the 1999 Olympic qualifiers in Uzbekistan.

At the Sydney Olympics, Lerio was among 28 qualifiers in the 48-kilogram lightflyweight division. He got a break in the draw after opponent Bradley Hore of Australia failed to make the weight and automatically advanced to the second round against Spain’s Rafael Lozano. Lerio sat on a 14-12 lead with 20 seconds to go and was on the way to a quarterfinals slot when instead of preserving his advantage in the homestretch, decided to mix it up. Alas, Lerio was repeatedly tagged in the process and Lozano–who earlier took a standing eight-count–stole a 17-15 decision.

Lozano went on to capture the silver medal. Rep. Monico Puentevella said if Lerio had beaten Lozano, he would’ve probably brought home a medal–maybe, even a gold.

The stain in Lerio’s pro record is an eyesore. But it’s a lesson he shouldn’t ignore. Manny Pacquiao was knocked out by journeyman Rustico Torrecampo early in his career and became a better fighter for it, later bagging the Oriental flyweight, the World Boxing Council flyweight, and International Boxing Federation superbantamweight titles.

Lerio shouldn’t dwell on the past. He should learn from it and move on.

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