Esterlito Togono and Ardie Boyose argue before they came to blows (GRABBED FROM YOUTUBE)
Pro pug Ardie Boyose faces charges after trading blows with 63-year-old man
The family of the old man who was beaten by a boxer along Archbishop Reyes Avenue in Cebu City is fighting back. But they’re doing it legally.
Ritch Togono Gallares, the daughter of 63-year-old Esterlito Togono, said the family has decided to file a case against 21-year old pro boxer Ardie Boyose.
Boyose, who sports a 17-0-2 (win-loss-draw) record, was seen beating Togono at the corner of Pope John Paul Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue around 4 p.m. on Aug. 23. The incident was recorded by a CCTV in the area.
Gallares uploaded the video last Thursday night and has since become viral on Facebook.
The five-minute video showed Boyose confronting Togono after the latter rebuked the former for making two minors fight each other on the street. Togono was repairing his jeepney at that time when he saw Boyose let the boys engage in a fist fight. He confronted Boyose, which ended up in the heated argument.
“My father does not want this [issue] to get bigger but we can’t take what we saw in the video,” Gallares told Cebu Daily News. “We can’t just let this pass by so me and my siblings will file a case against him the soonest.”
Gallares will also file a complaint to the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), the country’s sanctioning body for professional sports. They want him stripped of his license for professional boxing.
But Boyose said he is already retired, which was confirmed by former trainer Brix Flores. Flores said Boyose has not trained for more than a week since the incident happened. “He told me that he is already quitting boxing. I don’t know what his reason is but he has not shown up in my boxing gym for a week.”
Boyose, whose last fight was a victory over Mindanao-based American William George last June, said he just defended himself. He said he pushed Togono after he saw that the latter was carrying a sharp object. He said that he pushed him because he was afraid that he might be stabbed by Togono.
He also explained why he asked the two kids to fight.
“Akong manghud pagkabuntag ana gi bully siya sa eskwelahan mao to amo gi atngan ang nang bully niya. Mao to ako sila gipasumbagay aron maka balos siya. Wala man to kahibaw siya (Togono) nga mao to ang nahitabo, iyahang gi uwang, nagkatinubagay ming duha, nasuko man to siya kay gipasumbagay kuno nako. Nakuyawan ko kay nagdala naman hinuon siya ug hait nga butang mura man to ug ice pick or screw driver, mao to giilog namo, natukmod nako siya. Nibalik siya nagdala siya ug tubo iyaha kong gihapak. Nasakitan man ko mao to ni balos ko ug sumbag niya. Kung gusto pa jud unta to nako siya kulatahon ako na unta to siya gi nawong ug sumbag, ang ako ato nasakitan jud ko pag hapak niya sa tubo,” Boyose said.
(My younger brother was bullied in school that morning that’s why we waited for the one who bullied him. When he arrived, we let them fight so that he can exact revenge. He (Togono) didn’t know what was happening so he pacified them and we ended up arguing because he got angry that I let them fight. I got scared because he brought a sharp object that looked like an ice pick or a screw driver so we grappled for it and I ended up pushing him. He came back bringing a metal pipe and he hit me with it. It hurt me so I fought back and punched him. If I really wanted to maul him, I would have punched him in the face. I really just got hurt when he hit me with the pipe.”)
Boyose also said his family is planning to sue Togono’s family for uploading the video on Facebook even if they have already settled the issue with barangay officials in Barrio Luz. He he is doing this because he has received a lot of death threats online since the video was uploaded.
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