ILOILO CITY -- His dream is first, to watch his idol Manny Pacquiao fight Oscar Larios on TV this coming July 2; and, second, to someday become a champion like Pacquiao.
But the dreams of 12-year-old amateur boxer Robert John ?Little Pacman? Indencio were dashed to pieces last June 27 when a speeding six-wheeler truck smashed his skull and maimed his ribs in a freak accident in Arevalo district here.
Indencio, who was riding in a bicycle on his way to sell a heap of scrap metals he collected from the streets for his school allowance, died on the spot.
Arevalo police arrested truck driver Emilio Sibugan, 36, who claimed he lost control of the vehicle as he negotiated the JB Jocson St. He will be charged for reckless imprudence resulting to homicide.
SCHEDULE
Indencio, grave 6 pupil in Arevalo Elementary School, is one of the 30 Ilonggo amateur ringsters scheduled to display their prowess in the ?Mano A Mano in Iloilo? boxing tournament morning of July 2 before the Pacquiao-Larios fight at the Robinsons Mall here, said trainer Alfredo Amistoso, Sr.
Amistoso said Indencio would copy the style of the Filipino ring icon even if his skinny body wouldn?t qualify him for a boxer and his fists could hardly wear a pair of 12-ounce gloves.
As an amateur boxer, Indencio was prohibited by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) rules to receive cash but was given only a small token for his ?transportation allowance.?
As a young simonpure, Amistoso said Indencio, a mosquitoweight, had four wins in as many fights in inter-district tournaments. The Robinsons Mall brawl, backed by ABS-CBN-Iloilo as side event to the mega-fight in Araneta Coliseum, would have been Indencio?s fifth exposure in the ring.
NO TV SET
Indencio?s family does not own a TV set and he planned to use the tournament as an opportunity to watch Pacquiao?s fight as the TV network is planning to put up a giant screen in the tournament venue.
?When I heard the news (of the mishap), I could only shake my head in disbelief. Robert was a big loss,? sobbed Amistoso, who is himself a former boxer.
Indencio, who comes from a poor family, reportedly used ?Little Pacman? as his ring monicker in order to scare his rivals from other schools.
As of this writing, there was no replacement yet for Indencio in the July 2 tournament.
Pacquiao, who was known during his amateur days as ?King Kulafu?, started making a name when he was almost the same age of Indencio in General Santos City in the early 1990?s.
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