Marty’s back in the swing

The surname gives him away. Marty Elorde, 56, is the least visible of the late Flash Elorde’s three sons with older brothers Bebot and Johnny more known in boxing circles as promoters and managers. Marty is the fifth of seven children of D’Flash and Laura Sarreal.

In the Philippine context, Elorde is synonymous to boxing. So even if Marty wasn’t at first interested in the sport, he eventually got involved in the fight game. “I’ve been a tennis player all my life with little interest in boxing until two years before Daddy died in 1985, he asked me to take care of Rolando Bohol,” said Marty.

Under Marty’s management, Bohol claimed the IBF flyweight crown in January 1988, outpointing Korean Chang Ho Choi at the Rizal Memorial. That same year, in May, Bohol repulsed Korean challenger Cho Woon Park on points in his first title defense at the Araneta Coliseum. In October, Bohol yielded the throne to Duke McKenzie via an 11th round stoppage at Wembley.

It’s not too well-known that for five years, Marty quietly managed Manny Pacquiao’s ring affairs with Japanese partners through the late Rod Nazario. Marty was Pacquiao’s registered manager when he halted South African Lehlo Ledwaba for the IBF superbantamweight title in Las Vegas in 2001.

Looking back, Marty said two other top fighters whom he managed previously were former OPBF superflyweight king Raffy Montalban and former interim PABA superfeatherweight ruler Allan Visayas.

Marty prefers to keep a low profile and while he maintains a stable of 13 fighters today, none of them has a signed contract with him. “My fighters are free to leave if they want,” he said. “No obligations. If a fighter wants to move to another stable, why stop him? It’s useless to hold on to a fighter who’s not happy. I’m not in this business for the money. I don’t take a cut from my fighters’ purses and I travel for fights at the promoter’s expense. Actually, I’ll admit I enjoy the travel.”

A few weeks ago, Marty was in Minnesota to accompany his fighter, Philippine bantamweight champion Giovanni Escaner, in a bout against highly-touted prospect Joshua Greer, Jr. Escaner dropped Greer in the third round but ran out of steam and was stopped in the eighth. Marty said Escaner had little time to acclimatize to Minnesota’s freezing temperature. “I think Escaner has a lot of potential and I hope to bring him back to the US for another fight but next time, he’ll stay longer before a fight to acclimatize.” Escaner, 28, has a 19-4 record, with 12 KOs. He’s unbeaten in three Japan outings, winning all by KO.

World-rated OPBF lightflyweight titleholder Edward Heno is the latest to join Marty’s stable. He walked into the Elorde quarters in Sucat one day and asked if he could stay. However, there was a slight hitch in Heno’s move since he still has three more years left in his managerial contract with Baguio businessman Anson Tiu Co. The GAB stepped in to arbitrate the case since Heno had asked for his release. Co agreed to release Heno on condition that he shares in the purses of his next three fights at the rate of 50 percent of gross in the first and 20 percent of gross in the next two. The first bout was an OPBF title defense against Koji Itagaki in Hiroshima last month. Heno’s purse was $10,000. He has deposited $3,000 in the GAB account for Co and will remit $2,000 more.

Heno said he was with Co’s stable for four years and has the highest respect for him but the time had come to explore other opportunities. Marty and trainer Roel Durano were with Heno in Hiroshima. “Before the Itagaki bout, I’d never seen Heno fight,” said Marty. “Now that I’ve seen him, I think with his skills, he could become a world champion.” Marty said he hopes to ask Las Vegas international matchmaker Sean Gibbons’ assistance in booking fights for Heno and Escaner in the US.

Heno, 26, is undefeated with a record of 14-0-5, with 5 KOs. Twice since turning pro in 2011, he took extended leaves from the ring to set his mind straight. He started his career with three straight draws then wondered if a boxing career was something he’d like to pursue. He thought about it for a year then returned to the ring to win two in a row but still had his doubts. He took another year off before deciding to get serious in boxing. During those two leaves of absence, Heno made a living driving passengers in a pedicab and doing construction work. Now that he’s focused, Heno’s determined to go all the way to the throne for his girlfriend Joanne and their four sons.

Marty said Heno is different from the quiet and shy fighters he’s managed before. Heno is brash and likes to talk trash. “Medyo confident magsalita,” he said. “Compared sa mga boxers ko dati, times are changing. I’m praying that Mr. Gibbons can help him get a world title shot.”