Acting Mayor Duterte on boxing match with Torre: not on Sunday

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 July) – Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte said he will not show up on Sunday, July 27, for the boxing match with Philippine National Police Chief Nicolas Torre III at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, citing “family day” as reason. 

“Tuesday or Wednesday or any weekday,” he said in a pre-taped podcast aired on Saturday night.  To recall, Duterte challenged Torre to a boxing match, a challenge Torre accepted on July 21 but elevated to a 12‑round charity boxing event aimed at raising aid for victims of Metro Manila floods. He proposed Rizal Memorial Coliseum as venue for the 9 a.m. match on July 27.

Duterte replied that he finds the charity framing suspicious. “If you really just want a fight, why do you even need the floods for charity?”  

^{Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III. Photo credits: Screenshot from “Basta Dabawenyo” podcast (left) and MindaNews file photo}

The acting mayor in his podcast on Saturday night clarified that he “did not challenge Torre” but “just wanted to punch Torre.” 

“Kung lalaki ka talaga, suntukan tayo. Di naman kita hinamon, sinabi ko talaga na suntukan tayo, mabubugbog kita, hindi kita hinamon tanga (If you’re a man, let’s fight. I am not challenging you, stupid). You’re just as stupid as the journalist that asked you,” said the acting mayor, the youngest son of former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

The boxing match, he said, is just as a “smokescreen” or “diversionary issue” orchestrated by mainstream media.

After Torre accepted Duterte’s challenge on July 21, Duterte replied he would impose a condition that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other elected officials undergo a hair follicle drug test first. 

In his podcast aired Saturday night, Duterte said: “Tuesday, Wednesday, but not Sunday. Tuesday, Wednesday, or any other day. I think it’s better for you because you still have time to practice,” Duterte added in Cebuano, addressing Torre. 

In a media interview Thursday morning, Torre said the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate, Manila was all set to host the boxing match on Sunday. 

Asked what happens if Duterte doesn’t show up, Torre replied, “That’s his call. Either way, we already have sponsors lined up who pledged to donate relief goods for communities affected by recent heavy rains and flooding.” (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)