Maquinto's dream never came true

MANILA, Philippines - Karlo Maquinto’s dream of someday becoming a world boxing champion was shattered when he lost his fight for life in the wake of a brain injury suffered during a recent eight-round bout in Caloocan.

For six days, Maquinto battled to survive at the FEU-NRMF Medical Center in West Fairview, Quezon City, but never regained consciousness from a deep coma induced by a massive hemorrhage in the brain. He was pronounced dead last Friday. Doctors said the cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest.

Yesterday afternoon, Maquinto was brought home to Lambunao, Iloilo, in a coffin on an Air Philippines Express flight. It was a sad homecoming as his father Felicibar, an unemployed driver, celebrated his 47th birthday on a sorrowful note. Maquinto’s body was accompanied by his mother Marjorie, brother Arnold and sisters Virgie and Marilyn. He will lie in state for 15 days before burial.

“It was his dream to be a world champion,” said Maquinto’s mother in Pilipino. “He began boxing when he was in Grade 3 and joined the Batang Pinoy competitions. I didn’t want him to be a boxer. I told him I didn’t want him to get hurt. But he insisted. He wanted to be like (Manny) Pacquiao. He believed he could do it because he had the talent and thought boxing would bring us out of poverty.”

Maquinto, the fifth of six children, finished high school in Iloilo then went to Baguio City two years ago on the invitation of amateur boxing coach Boy Catolico to join the ABAP camp. But Maquinto was in a hurry to turn pro, hoping to use his earnings to make a better life for his parents. He wound up with Anson Tiu Co’s stable that was based at the Shape-Up Gym in the Cooyeesan Hotel Plaza in Baguio City.   

Maquinto took up a semester in a Hotel and Restaurant Management course at the University of Baguio but dropped out of school to concentrate on boxing. Last September, he went back to Iloilo for a brief visit when his grandmother passed away. It was his last visit alive. “Karlo tried to come home twice a year,” said his mother. “He always told me not to worry about him. A few days before every fight, he would call on his cellphone. Five days before his last fight, he called and asked me to pray for him. It was the last time I heard his voice. I expected him to call the day before the fight but he never called again. Virgie called me after the fight and sent me a ticket with my son to fly to Manila right away. I couldn’t believe this happened to Karlo. He was such a nice boy. Even though he wasn’t earning much from boxing, he would send P2,000 or P3,000 to us. I know he had a lot of fans. He told me an American fan gave him a laptop and another fan gave him a cellphone. That was how the fans appreciated him as a fighter and a friend.”

Maquinto’s mother said the family barely makes ends meet. “I only stay at home,” she said. “My husband takes care of one pig and works as a driver whenever there is a job. We have a grandson from our second child but our eldest, Virgie who’s 28 is not yet married. She’s a caregiver in Quezon City. Karlo and Virgie were the only ones who left Iloilo. Karlo thought boxing would give us a better life. Even when he was small, Karlo loved boxing and karate. His idol was Jackie Chan.”

Virgie said the family couldn’t ask more from Tiu Co. “Mr. Anson paid for everything from the hospital expenses to the funeral service to the tickets of my mother, brother and sister to fly to Manila,” she said. “He’s a very caring person. He loved Karlo like a brother. Karlo was the special one in his boxing team. He had the best shoes, the best clothes. He was the best fighter in the team.”

Tiu Co said he had high hopes for Maquinto as a promising fighter. Maquinto, 21, never lost in his pro career, compiling a 6-0-1 record, with four KOs. With Maquinto’s death, Tiu Co said he is dismantling his boxing stable and offering his two remaining fighters Larry Abarra and Macre Gandiongco to Joven Jimenez of the Top Contender gym of Cavite.

Maquinto’s boxing license was only recently renewed by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), meaning he was medically cleared to continue fighting. Virgie said she hopes the GAB institutes preventive and protective measures so other boxers are spared from suffering Maquinto’s fate.

 Maquinto’s girlfriend Azon Ibal rushed from Baguio City to Manila when she learned he had lapsed into a coma. She was at his bedside throughout his hospital stay. Ibal said Maquinto asked her to go steady last December. “Karlo was good-looking so he had a lot of admirers,” said Virgie. “He will be missed.”