PNP Chief General Nicolas Torre III was declared the winner of the “Boxing for a Cause: Fight for the Victims” charity event at Rizal Memorial Coliseum yesterday after his opponent, Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, did not appear.
Torre entered the ring at 10:30 a.m. and waited for Duterte. However, after 10 seconds passed with no sign of his opponent, the referee announced Torre as the winner by default.
Thousands of people came to Rizal Coliseum to watch the much-anticipated match between Torre and Baste. Before the main event, three undercard matches were held for the audience.
Torre said the PNP collected around ₱300,000 from ticket sales and received more than ₱16 million in donations. This amount will be given to the DSWD to help people affected by recent typhoons and monsoon rains.
Torre also ruled out the chance of a rematch, saying there’s no reason to fight again. He added that he has more important things to do than to deal with Duterte again.
“I have a lot of work, and this is not worth my time,” Torre said. “We worked hard to make this event happen. I don’t think it’s worth responding to him anymore. Let him stay in his own world.”
It was Baste who originally challenged Torre to a boxing match, which Torre quickly accepted. However, Duterte later added conditions, including requiring all government officials to take a drug test before the fight.
On Friday, the NBI received information that Duterte and his family had already flown to Singapore.
