The International Boxing Association (AIBA), the world governing boxy for Olympic-style boxing,has announced that long-time Filipino amateur boxing international referee-judge Jesus San Esteban Jr. has been certified as an International Technical Official (ITO) for the sport.
An ex-Philippine Marine, San Esteban has officiated in numerous boxing tournaments here and abroad for the past thirty years. He started as a National Referee-Judge in 1981, picked up his first international star in 1989 and his AIBA 2 stars in 1992.
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Ricky Vargas entered San Esteban's name in the examination roster and personally brought him to Astana, Kazakhstan early this month where he took the examinations.
He is now the second Filipino ITO after Karina Picson, who passed the same exam in April last year in Antalya, Turkey.
The ABAP also caused the upgrade of 12 National Referee-Judges to 1-star AIBA international international status last March. The 12, including one lady referee-judge, underwent refresher seminars and actual performance tests for over a week during the PLDT-ABAP National Championships in Bohol. The seminars and examination were supervised and conducted personally by AIBA instructors Garip Erkuyumcu of Turkey and Li Qengzheng of China.
Vargas said the upgrade and certifications of officials are "part of ABAP's continuing program of developing not only our boxers, but also our officials and coaches. It is a source of pride for us that the international federation acknowledges the abilities and competencies of our people."
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