When Manny retired Sammy
Professional boxing referee Sammy Bernabe proudly admits he retired as a fighter because of Manny Pacquiao.
It was in 1999 when Bernabe, a superflyweight contender, was brought in as a sparring partner for Pacquiao, training for his WBC flyweight title defense against Mexico’s Garbiel Mira at the Araneta Coliseum.
Bernabe recalls that Pacquiao never pulled his punches in pounding him from pillar to post.
“He beat me up and busted my ribs,” says Bernabe. “I was scheduled to fight two days later against Primo Erasan. I was in no condition to fight Erasan but I showed up anyway. I almost knocked him out in the second round but in the fourth, my ribs were hurting so badly, all I did was hold until the referee disqualified me. That was my last fight. It wasn’t Erasan who retired me. It was Manny and I’m proud of it. Even at that time, no one could punch harder than Manny.”
Bernabe, 35, is now a licensed Games and Amusements Board (GAB) referee. His regular job is with the security detail of Japanese businessman Toyoharu Aoki who owns the popular Sushi Kappo Kobkcho restaurant in the Contreras (formerly Jaka) building at Legazpi Village.
Bernabe was a pro from 1989 to 1999, figuring in 24 fights. His most memorable wins were a ninth round knockout over Alvin Magramo to win the Luzproba (Luzon Professional Boxing Association) superflyweight crown in 1992 and a second round disposal of Jeffrey Basil of Baguio in 1994.
Bernabe also remembers fighting overseas although he lost his three foreign outings by knockout. In 1994, he was stopped by Oriental superflyweight and bantamweight champion In Sik Koh in Gyengyu, Korea, in two rounds. In 1996, Bernabe was halted by Hidetoshi Tanaka in four in Fukuoka, Japan, and two years later, he was defeated by PABA bantamweight and featherweight titleholder Saohin Srithai Condo in a single round in Samut Sakhan, Thailand.
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Bernabe reports for work everyday in a long-sleeved barong Tagalog and is proof that there is life after professional boxing. He has a stable means of livelihood and continues to be involved in the sport he loves as a referee. Bernabe and wife Roselyn, 37, are parents of four children Brian Jay, 14, Sammy Jr., 13 and twins John Pathreck and John Paulo, 8.
Last Thursday, Bernabe and I were guests on Gerry Cornejo’s TV talk show “Open House” which airs every Tuesday from 9 to 10 p.m. on Global News Network (GNN) Destiny cable channel 21.
Bernabe came on in the last segment of the show to share his thoughts on the Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight this weekend. He said there’s no way Cotto will beat Pacquiao who’s too fast and too strong for the Puerto Rican who’s defending his WBO welterweight title.
Cornejo’s show is co-produced by MediaKom and GNN and has been on the air since 2002, starting on RJTV and now, GNN the last two years. Some of the guests Cornejo has featured in his show were the late President Cory Aquino, former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Juan Ponce Enrile, Franklin Drilon, Manny Villar and Juan Flavier, Representatives Teddy Boy Locsin, Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casino and Risa Hontiveros, Speaker Jose de Venecia, Nur Misuari, six-time world bowling champion Paeng Nepomuceno, Chief Justice Andres Narvasa, AFP chief of staff Lizandro Abadia, Mayors Benjamin Abalos, Peewee Trinidad, Sonny Belmonte and Alfredo Lim, Chief Justice Reynato Puno and Jun Lozada.
Cornejo has hosted and co-produced “KKK Sa RJ” on DZRJ 810 AM since 2001. It airs Monday to Friday from 7 to 8 a.m. and is heard worldwide via Internet in real time at www.rjplanet.com.
Cornejo earned a Business Administration degree at La Salle and also attended Ateneo for law, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for public health and tobacco control as a Bloomberg scholar. An avid motorcyclist who rides his bike from his central Makati condo to the GNN studios on Pasong Tamo Extension, Cornejo is an advocate of public safety for motorcyclists as a director of the Motorcycle Philippines Federation and also champions the cause of tobacco control as president of the Yosi Kadiri Organization.
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In tonight’s “Open House,” Cornejo asked about my work in microfinance, my experiences as a basketball commentator, particularly during the NBA Finals and how I expect the Pacquiao-Cotto fight to end.
It was an interesting reversal of roles for me since I usually do the asking on TV. I enjoyed talking about my passions in life and even got to show a photo taken of me with Nobel prize winner and microfinance guru Muhammad Yunus and a newspaper clipping of when I lectured on microfinance, while being translated into seven languages simultaneously, before diplomats and bankers at the United Nations in Geneva.
Bernabe’s appearance in the last segment was a welcome and fitting “surprise.” As a former fighter who once sparred with Pacquiao, he shared his insights on this weekend’s bout.
Don’t fail to watch “Open House With Gerry Cornejo” tonight at 9 p.m. on GNN Global Destiny cable channel 21. You’ll find out things you never knew before about me and of course, you can’t miss the discussion on the Pacquiao-Cotto fight.
By the way, in case you haven’t listened in, you can tune in now for a 77-minute in-depth primer of the Pacquiao-Cotto match on philstar.com. The podcast is on an MP3 audio player imbedded as a microsite accessible by just clicking on philstar.com. It’s philstar.com’s inaugural podcast. The four segments in the primer are an overview (what’s at stake), strengths and weaknesses of Cotto, strengths and weaknesses of Pacquiao and the final analysis including the 15 factors of consequence, the four things Pacquiao should watch for and a fearless forecast. Tune in anytime from now until Saturday, the eve of the fight.
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