Fortaleza, great boxing Olympian, passes away

After living a colorful life on and off the ring, and bravely fighting cancer for more than two years, Renato "Rene" Fortaleza on Friday night lost his biggest battle -- against the Big C.

One of the finest amateur boxers the country has ever produced, Rene succumbed to multiple organ failure at 7 p.m. at the Philippine General Hospital where he was confined a few days ago upon returning from Bohol City where he supervised an amateur boxing tournament.

Rene, a member of the boxing Fortaleza clan, had been undergoing chemotherapy the last few months. But this did not stop him from performing his duties as secretary-general of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines.

In fact, he even joined the national boxing team in a tournament in China last month, and was supposed to join another trip to Mati, Davao Oriental, yesterday for the Mindanao Friendship Games.

Rene, who fought for the country in the 1972 Munich Olympics, was to turn 48 on Oct. 30. He was survived by his wife Maribel and children Renmar, Raymond, Ryan, Rogel and Rene Boy Jr. His remains were brought to his residence at Antipolo, Rizal.

According to his brother Rogelio, Rene was taken to a hospital in Bohol City after suffering from the flu and having difficulty breathing. Upon his return to Manila, Rene was immediately confined at the PGH.

Rogelio had told friends that Rene seemed "in limbo" while in his hospital bed and even had spells of hallucination, at times gingerly moving as if he was fighting on the ring and even raising his hands later on as if he’d just won a bout. Shortly before he expired, Rogelio kept egging him on to continue fighting, but Rene just couldn’t hang on.

"Sinasabihan pa daw ni Roger (Rogelio) na ‘Kuya, may laban pa tayo ha. May laban pa,’ pero umiiling na daw. But we all know he fought until the end," said a close friend.

Rene studied at FEU where he also worked as a security officer while teaching boxing. Then he won the featherweight gold during the 1971 Asian Youth Boxing Championships, leading up to his Olympic stint. He took the silver in the 1975 Asian Boxing Championships and came back to win the gold in the 1979 Asean Boxing Championships.

In 1981, he became ABAP secretary-general under former Manila Mayor Gemiliano "Mel" Lopez and performed his duties to the best of his ability.

Upon learning he had cancer, Rene took a break from boxing, and joined his relatives abroad to rest. He returned home last year and rejoined the ABAP family.

In short, Rene lived a colorful life. A friend to many, he’ll surely be remembered and missed — on and off the ring.