Sports Eye
Knowing Kuya Hermie
By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.
IT was afternoon of January 16 when I received a text message from PDI’s famous sports columnist Recah Trinidad informing me that our friend and media colleague Hermie Rivera had passed away in California. The news surprised me since Kuya Hermie didn’t show any sign of feebleness the last time I rendezvoused with him few years back in Manila with some of his close buddies. We proceed to a restaurant from Manila Hotel where the promotional tour and press conference for the Pacquiao-Marquez third battle was held. And as expected, our topic zeroed in on the fight of the two world boxing legends over bottles of beers, and we agreed Pacquiao would win the third encounter though the hard way. It turned out to be true, Pacman won via majority decision.
I first met Kuya Hermie during the 1973 Tour of Luzon. He was then the top honcho of the government-owned Radyo ng Bayan that covered the pedal-by-pedal account of the fabled 10-day bikathon live which I won by just 54 seconds over my teammate and townmate Cesar Catambay. That was one of the closest gaps in Philippine cycling history. Married to Dagupena lass, Kuya Hermie also understood and spoke the Pangasinan lingo which we occasionally used but he was more comfortable with the Ilocano language.
He later shifted his sports interest to professional boxing and became the manager of Orient Pacific Boxing Federation flyweight champion Socrates Batoto. Batoto under Kuya Hermie’s watch became the world number one contender in the flyweight division and went on to fight defending champion Betulio Gonzales of Venezuela in June 3, 1972. Unfortunately, Batoto was kayoed in the fourth round. Batoto also tried to wrest the world bantamweight crown of Mexican Alfonso Zamora but found himself on the floor in 1975 staged in Mexico City.
Kuya Hermie was unsuccessful with Batoto, but his luck changed when he guided Tondo boy Luisito Espinosa to two-division world championship by winning the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight diadem against Khaokor Galaxy via a first round knockout. After numerous successful defenses, Espinosa succumbed to Mexican Israel Contreras via a humiliating fifth round debacle at the Araneta Coliseum in 1991. Due to weight problem, Espinosa moved to featherweight division (126 lbs) and captured the World Boxing Council (WBC) world title by scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over Mexican Manuel Medina in 1995. After many victorious defenses, he eventually lost the crown to Mexican gutsy Gustavo Espadas, Jr. in year 2000 in Mexico.
Kuya Hermie’s other successful ward was Fil-Am Morris East who won the WBA junior welterweight tiara (140 lbs) via 11th round knockout over Akinobu Hiranaka of Japan in 1992. His win against Hiranaka became the Knockout of the Year by Ring Magazine. He was the youngest Filipino world boxing champion (19 years old) and the second youngest in the world to win the 140-pound world crown next to Wilfredo Benitez (17 years old) of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately the Morris eventually lost the crown to Argentine Martin Coggi via an eight round knockout.
I followed the Kuya Hermie’s career as a sports broadcaster, commentator, writer and kingmaker of Filipino world boxing champions. For sure his friends, colleagues in the sports world will miss him.
Goodbye kuya Hermie and may you rest now in peace in your second world. Amen.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 1Timothy 5: 17
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