Gabi sued for estafa

Flyweight boxer Diosdado Gabi has been sued for estafa by North Cotabato Gov. Manny Piñol in Davao City and the Bureau of Immigration is expected to issue a hold order soon to prevent the fighter from flying the coop.

But there’s a slight hitch.

Gabi, 25, beat the justice system to the draw and quietly left the country last Wednesday on a Philippine Airlines flight to Los Angeles. He was accompanied by American businessman Michael Koncz. Also on the flight were bantamweight fighter Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista and trainer Edito Villamor.

Gov. Piñol, however, isn’t dismayed. Sooner or later, Gabi will come home and when he does, he’ll have to face the music.

In no uncertain terms, Gov. Piñol says he’s not taking back Gabi even if he asks to return to his stable.

"Sa ginawa niya sa aming pamilya, pinakita ni Gabi na wala siyang utang na loob," fumes Gov. Piñol. "I wish him good luck in the States but with his attitude, I doubt if he will succeed."

It was Gov. Piñol who brought Gabi to prominence and built him into a world contender. Gabi hasn’t lost in his last 14 fights and his only two losses were decisions in Thailand. He was outpointed by Sot Sor Veerapol in 2002 and Samson 3-K Battery, now retired, in 2001. His record is 25-2-1, with 18 KOs.

Gabi was held to a draw by Indonesian Jimmy Pinontoan in Jakarta in 2002. In a rematch last February, Gabi disposed of Pinontoan in a single round.

"We invested about P4 million in Gabi," continues Gov. Piñol. "We had to pay his former manager P150,000 for his release. We even negotiated to bring in Rosendo Alvarez to fight Gabi for $10,000 in Palawan in an elimination fight for the WBC (World Boxing Council) title. Murad (Muhammad) arranged it. But Gabi backed out and told us he was retiring from boxing."

Apparently, there was a misunderstanding between one of Gov. Piñol’s brothers and Gabi. It had something to do with Gabi asking money for a personal reason. When Gabi couldn’t get the money, he packed up and announced his retirement from boxing. Gabi told the Piñols he was quitting the fight game for good.

To Gov. Piñol’s surprise, he later learned Koncz was interested to bring Gabi to the US.

"I told Michael not to touch Gabi because I want to teach him a lesson," relates Gov. Piñol. "The issue isn’t money. I just want Gabi to realize what he’s doing isn’t right. I want to teach him Filipino values."

To be fair, Koncz asked if Gabi had a valid contract with Gov. Piñol or his family. There was none.

"I never ask my fighters to sign contracts because they’re free to go if they don’t want to stay," explains Gov. Piñol. "But in Gabi’s application for a boxer’s license with the Games and Amusements Board this year, he indicated my brother Noli as his manager. So that’s the basis of our court case."

Koncz tried to call Gov. Piñol on his mobile phone when they saw each other during the recent Z Gorres-Deeden Kengkarun fight in San Andres. But Gov. Piñol didn’t pick up.

The other day, Koncz phoned from his Los Angeles home where Gabi, Bautista and Villamor are staying. He heard about the suit against Gabi and was concerned. Koncz asked what I knew about it.

"I never meant to disrespect Gov. Piñol," he said. "I kept him posted on what I was doing from the start. I premised my actions on the assumption that Gabi is a free agent and has no existing contract with a manager. All I’m doing is helping out Gabi by finding fights for him in the US."

Cebu-based businessman Tony Aldeguer, who manages Bautista, said he had nothing to do with Gabi’s departure.

"Once, when I was abroad, I found out Gabi was training in my gym," recalled Aldeguer. "I’d never seen nor met him."

Aldeguer said he’s a close friend of Gov. Piñol and wouldn’t do anything to harm their relationship.

Koncz said he will let a few days pass then try to phone Gov. Piñol again.

"My interest is to help out Filipino boxers, that’s all," said Koncz. "I don’t intend to steal fighters away from managers. I want to work with their managers as a US contact."

It was Koncz who negotiated Bobby Pacquiao’s recent fight against Carlos Navarro in California. He said Pacquiao will face Carlos (Famoso) Hernandez on Oct. 8 in the undercard of the Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo rematch at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The winner of the Pacquiao-Hernandez fight will be rewarded with a high-profile match in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rematch, also in Las Vegas, in December or January.

The Pacquiao-Morales rematch, however, is contingent on both fighters beating separate opponents in a Bob Arum card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 10.