The recipe for creating a world boxing champion is not as complicated as it may seem. All you need are two ingredients: a talented and disciplined fighter and a manager or promoter who knows how to manage his or her career.
If anyone in Panama knows how to perform this second function well, it's Jose Rogelio Espinho, one of the great allies the World Boxing Association (WBA) has had over the past two decades.
Since the start of this new century, Espinho has been heavily involved in the creation and crowning of the Central American country's last remaining world champions, with the likes of Vicente “El Loco” Mosquera, Celestino “Perentin” Caballero, Ricardo “Maestrito” Cordoba, Anselmo “Kemito” Moreno, Luis “El Nica” Concepcion and future WBA champion Jezrel “El Invisible” Corrales all coming out of his hands in one form or another.
After a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Espinho and his promoter company Promociones y Eventos del Istmo are determined to get back on track with their mission of helping Panamanian boxing get back on top and ensure that Panamanians get their much-coveted world champion in the shortest possible time.
The inaugural event took place on the evening of Thursday, June 20th at the Irving Saladino Sports City Combat Center in the Panamanian capital. Seven professional bouts were featured, including Panama's Leroy “El Sensacional” Estrada (18-4, 4 KOs) defeating Colombia's Ruben Mendoza by knockout to win the Fedecaribe super flyweight belt (115 lbs) and unbeaten Colombian Hernan Alarcón (8-0, 7 KOs) knocking out Panama's Felix “Chino” Montenegro in the 10th round to win the Fedecaribe 118 lbs title.
After the game, Espinho spoke about the night and his short and medium term goals.
“After a four-year hiatus, I'm very happy to be back with our marquee and our boxers giving it their all. It was a successful night for Panamanian boxing and I hope to continue in this way for the foreseeable future,” said Espinho.
“My goal is to work with the fighters, to give experience to those just starting out and to help those who are more experienced to get into the world rankings and ultimately to fight for a world title,” added the multiple winner of the Promoter of the Year award from the Panama Professional Boxing Commission (Comibox).
Finally, Espinho appealed to the Panamanian authorities, who will soon take over governance of the country.
“We want to remind all businessmen and the new governor that boxing is a sport in which we have always had great results,” he said.
