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.
Postscript. Keep sending feedback on anything and everything about sports to "InBOX." To send your feedback, text philstar<space>fb<space>your message(max 160 characters), name and address to: 211 (Smart and Talk ‘N’ Text) and 2333 (Globe Touch Mobile). Sender’s name and address are required for published messages. Here are replies to recent messages. To Mark Rayo of Cabanatuan City, the contracts of Eddie Laure and John Ferriols exceed the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie salary cap because they’re exceptions being Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) veterans. To Vladimir Andrew of Quezon City, please bear with us when we write about sports politics. Rest assured this is only because it is relevant and has a major impact on the good of Philippine sports. To Mon Aviguetero of Kapitolyo and Leila Roces of Cubao, you’re right-it was Jermaine O’Neal who fouled Michael Jordan, not Tracy McGrady, although the published play-by-play account in the National Basketball Association (NBA) website pointed to T-Mac. To Marlon Luces of Cebu, we’ll line up a story on Lebron James soon. To Marianne Castillo, watch out for the Star’s big pre-season stories on the PBA. To June Fabregas of Oriental Mindoro, we hope you enjoyed the All-Star Saturday events on Solar Sports. To Gerry Castillo of Sta. Mesa, thanks for your opinion that a Kobe Bryant for Allen Iverson trade would be good for Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But will it get done? To Vir Lauzon of General Santos City, do you honestly think the call on O’Neal was justified, regardless of whether you are a Jordan fan or not? Kobe had no chance of making that triple and O’Neal hardly made contact. You don’t make that kind of a call with a second left and the game on the line. To other readers, what do you think? Send your feedback to "InBOX."