Why include Koizumi?

Former World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight champion Luisito Espinosa is on the warpath. And so is his new manager Noel Rivera whose father Hermie says lawyers are reviving efforts to collect the fighter’s unpaid purse of some $130,000 from his 1997 title defense against Carlos Rios in Koronadal.

Hermie, who’s based here, is consulting with lawyer Sammy Estimo – the chess grandmaster – on how to attack the problem. Noel, who’s based in San Francisco, says Espinosa is busy working in the gym to prepare for his comeback.

Before the Riveras entered the picture, Espinosa filed a civil suit against former South Cotabato Gov. Larry DePedro for refusing to honor a promissory note amounting to the balance of the unpaid purse. Espinosa also filed a case before the Ombudsman.

Hermie says the cases didn’t prosper because lawyers sat on the job. In fact, Hermie notes there was no motion for a writ of attachment on DePedro’s property so that even if the court ordered a payoff, Espinosa couldn’t move in on the former Governor’s assets.

Estimo’s advice is to expand the charge sheet to include former Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Dominador Cepeda and Japanese matchmaker Joe Koizumi who was Espinosa’s manager at the time of the Koronadal scam.

Hermie says Cepeda should’ve enforced the GAB rule of requiring purses to be deposited in a bank before a fight. That would’ve prevented DePedro from reneging on his commitment to pay Espinosa.

As for Koizumi, Hermie says although the Japanese tried his best to protect Espinosa, nothing has come out of his efforts. That’s why he might be included in the charge sheet, explains Hermie, because despite DePedro’s promissory note, it was Koizumi’s responsibility as manager to take care of Espinosa.

To Koizumi’s credit, he offered to pay Espinosa the unpaid balance in installments – from his share of the fighter’s purses in future bouts. That was a clear sign of good faith. Unfortunately, Espinosa and his wife Mariecherie rejected Koizumi’s proposal – they wanted to be paid in full. As it turned out, the Espinosas were left holding an empty bag. If they had agreed to Koizumi’s proposal, maybe the unpaid balance would’ve been paid off by now.

It must also be noted that Koizumi initially didn’t allow Espinosa to fight Rios unless he was paid his purse. But DePedro begged Koizumi to relent – otherwise, a riot would’ve broken out in Koronadal. To appease Koizumi, DePedro signed a promissory note. Koizumi took DePedro’s word for it – he shouldn’t have.

Hermie says in the end, Koizumi may just be summoned as a witness, not as a respondent. Koizumi, in fact, offered Espinosa a $10,000 purse to fight in Japan last September but Noel turned it down because "the money wasn’t appropriate for a former two-time world champion."

Hermie says his son has spoken to WBC president Jose Sulaiman on Espinosa’s comeback plans. Sulaiman told Espinosa during a recent conversation in San Francisco: "Just tell me when, where and (at) what weight you want to fight and I will help … you’ve been a great champion of our organization and I consider you as a loving son."

Hermie says he would rather not reveal the sordid details of Espinosa’s plight at the WBC convention in Thailand next month but if his lawyers insist, he might just spill the beans before the delegates. Cepeda will attend the convention and Hermie is threatening to publicly implicate the former GAB chairman in the mess.

Espinosa, meanwhile, is inclined to stage his comeback in San Francisco sometime in January. His US immigration papers are under review and he may be required to stay in the country unless issued a parole visa to visit Manila.

Hermie says Espinosa will likely fight as a junior lightweight. His son confides that if negotiations are successful, Espinosa might be lined up to dispute the WBC superfeatherweight throne which Floyd Mayweather is set to vacate. Noel is conjuring visions of Espinosa battling for the vacant title in the undercard of a Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson mainer or a Jose Luis Castillo defense of his WBC lightweight crown against Mayweather.

Hermie says his son is talking to ESPN and Univision on a possible contract after an initial agreement to fight for America Presents went down the drain in the wake of Dan Goossen’s resignation. Goossen had negotiated a renewal of Espinosa’s America Presents contract at an initial purse of $35,000.

Espinosa is hoping President Arroyo comes to his rescue. Last month, he sent an appeal to the Chief Executive asking for her help in collecting his unpaid purse from DePedro.

"Mahalaga po para sa aking pamilya na ibuhos ko ang lahat ng lakas ko sa susunod kong laban," said Espinosa in his letter to the President. "Higit sa lahat, nais ko pong ialay ang aking korona sa mga kababayan kong Pilipino na umaasa sa inyong katarungan."

Hermie says Malacañang has yet to reply to Espinosa’s appeal.