Lopez twits detractors, says he won't resign

Boxing chief Manny Lopez yesterday said he will not step down despite calls for his resignation following Harry Tañamor’s loss right in his first fight in the recent Beijing Olympics.

“I have a mandate to serve the Filipino people and the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines. I am not stepping down,” said Lopez in a TV interview yesterday.

Instead, Lopez challenged his detractors to run and face him in the ABAP general elections this November.

“Yung mga taong gusto ng pwesto ko tumakbo sila sa eleksyon ng NSA namin para magkaalaman na (Those who want my position should run in our election and let’s see what happens),” Lopez said.

“This is not my family’s source of livelihood so if the board still wants me, I’ll stay. If not, I’ll go,” he said.

The call for Lopez to yield the boxing reins came up after Tañamor’s one-sided loss to little-known Manyo Plange of Ghana right in the first round of the light flyweight division.

A couple of names have been floated as potential replacements for Lopez, including boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Piñol.

Clamors for Lopez to resign actually started as early as last February when the RP boxers failed to gain tickets in the Beijing Olympics with poor showings in a series of qualifiers.

Lopez took over at the ABAP after his father, Mel Lopez, assumed the chairmanship of the Philippine Sports Commission in the early 90s.

Under the younger Lopez watch, the country won its second Olympic silver medal courtesy of Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

But it turned out to be the last Olympic medal as RP came home empty-handed in the next three Games in Sydney, Athens and Beijing.