Ref advises Pinoy fighters to travel

Veteran boxing referee and judge Lou Filippo yesterday encouraged Filipino fighters to see action overseas so the world is able to open its eyes to their talent and appreciate what they’re capable of doing in the ring.

Filippo, 81, is in Manila attending the 45th WBC convention. He has worked over 120 world title bouts. As a fighter, Filippo compiled a 22-9-3 record, with seven KOs, from 1947 to 1957. His last two fights were against former world superlightweight and lightweight titlist Carlos Ortiz.

“I’ve watched a lot of Filipino fighters from Flash Elorde to Manny Pacquiao,” said Filippo who acted in five “Rocky” movies with Sylvester Stallone. “A trademark of Filipino fighters is they fight with spirit, determination and skill. They’re very exciting. They give the fans their money’s worth. More Filipino fighters should go abroad so they can be widely recognized.”

Filippo called Elorde “one of the greatest ever” and Pacquiao “one of the most exciting ever.”

When Pacquiao stopped Erik Morales twice, Filippo said he realized the Filipino had to be special.

“You don’t knock out a Hall of Famer like Morales twice unless you’re special,” said Filippo. “Manny gives it all he’s got in the ring and never goes backward. That’s why he’s such a crowd pleaser. In his last bout (against Marco Antonio Barrera), he wasn’t too impressive because the other guy didn’t come to fight so that wasn’t his fault.”

Filippo said he has missed attending only one WBC convention in the last 24 years and makes it a point to show up because of his love for the sport.

“It’s a great honor for Manny and the Philippines that the WBC chose Manila to host its convention,” said Filippo. “This is my first time in the Philippines although when I was in the US Navy as a pharmacist’s mate in 1944, I was on board the USS South Dakota, a battleship, on Philippine waters but never got to go down.”

Filippo said in his long career as a referee, he worked only two fights involving Filipinos – Jesus Salud when he stopped David Vasquez in 1998 and Frank Cedeno when he lost his WBC flyweight crown to Koji Kobayashi in Tokyo in 1984. 

Filippo logged more than 250 amateur fights before turning pro.

“I was a bleeder,” recalled Filippo, the father of two, grandfather of three and greatgrandfather of three. “They used to joke that even before my fight, I already started to bleed. I lost to Ortiz and Lauro Salas on cuts. I was 33 in my last fight and my opponent, Ortiz, was 23. We later became good friends and during a ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame, he called out to me to sit beside him on stage.”

Filippo managed world champion Don Jordan for a few fights before becoming a referee in 1973. He was the third man in the ring for bouts involving Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Shane Mosley, Tony Tucker, Genaro Hernandez, Bobby Chacon, Bazooka Limon and Wayne McCullough.

As a judge, Filippo had the guts to score it 115-113 for Marvelous Marvin Hagler who lost to Leonard by split decision as Dave Moretti had it 115-113 and Jose Guerra, 118-110 for Sugar Ray in 1987. In Hearns’ 1982 fight against Wilfred Benitez for the WBC lightmiddleweight crown, Filippo saw it 142-all but Dick Young had it 145-137 and Tony Castellano 144-139, both for the Hitman.

In his acting career, Filippo said he was always treated with respect by TV actors such as George Peppard and Mr. T (“A-Team”), Ricardo Montalban (“Fantasy Island”) and Bruce Willis (“Moonlighting”).

“I was lucky to get parts,” said Filippo. “But I never had a kissing scene. In the ‘Rocky’ movies, we were about 30 who auditioned for the referee’s role. About seven or eight were real referees like me. I loved working with Stallone who could’ve been a boxer. He knew how to fight. In the movies, I couldn’t referee the way I did in the ring because the director tells you where to go and what to do. But it was a lot of fun.”

One of Filippo’s favorite fighters was the late world featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez whom he said could’ve gone on to become the greatest Mexican fighter ever. He was killed in an automobile accident in the prime of his career.

Filippo said today’s referees are competent and measuring up to standards. He named Laurence Cole, Tony Weeks, Kenny Bayless, Jay Nady and Bruce McTavish among the top arbiters.

For aspiring referees, Filippo advised they should master the rules, do what’s right and stay in tip-top physical condition.

“I’m about 30 pounds overweight now,” he said. “But when I was active, I used to run every morning and go to the gym.”

On the proliferation of governing bodies, Filippo said he has no problem with it. “They’re just doing their job,” he said. “Everyone has a different outlook in life. I think it’s great for the fighters that there are so many titles to fight for, so many chances to earn big purses and become champions. When I fought, there was only one champion in a weight class.”