Luisito Pio Espinosa (born June 26, 1967) is a Filipino actor and former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1984 to 2005. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

(WBA)

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

title from 1989 to 1991 and the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

(WBC)

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

title from 1995 to 1999.

Professional career

Espinosa turned professional in 1984. In 1989, he won the WBA

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

title by knocking out Kaokor Galaxy in the first round. He was then managed by famed boxing analyst and businessman Hermie Rivera. Espinosa defended the title twice before losing it to Israel Contreras by a fifth-round knockout in 1991. Espinosa made an arduous climb back to the top, this time fighting under Joe Koizumi's stable. His comeback culminated in 1995, when he won the WBC

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

title by outpointing Manuel Medina. In his first title defense, Espinosa knocked out Alejandro "Cobrita" Gonzalez in the 4th round in Mexico. He then took on the hard-hitting body-puncher

César Soto César Soto Esquivel (born September 17, 1971) is a Mexican retired professional boxer and is a former WBC featherweight champion. Professional career Soto got his first world title shot in September 1991 against WBO bantamweight title holder ...

at Luneta (Rizal) Park in Manila and hammered out a well-deserved unanimous decision in front of his countrymen, which included no less than President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

. He defended the title seven times before losing the belt in 1999 to Soto who won by a controversial unanimous decision. The following year, he challenged Guty Espadas, Jr. for the Vacant WBC Featherweight Title, but was outboxed and lost a technical decision after their fight was stopped after a clash of heads.

Retirement

Espinosa retired in 2005 after a public outcry for him to stop fighting after being

knocked out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

Cristóbal Cruz Cristóbal Cruz Rivera, also known as ''Lacandón'' (born 19 May 1977) is a Mexican professional boxing, professional boxer and former International Boxing Organization, IBO and International Boxing Federation, IBF featherweight Champion. Care ...

. He spent his retirement living in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.

Post-boxing career

Due to some promotional and managerial disputes and divorce, Espinosa was left with little. He had to take jobs washing dishes, stocking shelves, flipping burgers and cleaning carpets in the US. Espinosa, who was out of the boxing scene for quite a while, entered the

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) scene by training brothers

Nick Diaz Nicholas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and ...

and

Nate Diaz Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is currently a free agent. Diaz is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought for ov ...

in boxing to improve their stand-up. He also assisted in the training of the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

's Boxing team from 2006-2007 in preparation for the annual Hilltop Cup. After losing his job in the US he was invited to work in Hong Kong as a boxing trainer at the Everlast Fight and Fitness Gym and moved in November 2014. On June 16, 2015, after 17 years, he won a case for prize money that was owed to him his by the promoters of his WBC featherweight title defense against

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Carlos Rios Carlos Alberto Ramon Rios (born 14 April 1971) is an Argentine professional boxer. He currently has 53 wins and 11 losses. Rios has fought in the super lightweight and featherweight division. Rios has fought for a world title on several occasi ...

. In 2017, he moved to the Everlast Gym as a boxing trainer in downtown

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

city in mainland

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. When he returned to the Philippines, he was added as cast of '' FPJ's Batang Quiapo'', as Roberto.

Professional boxing record

Awards and recognition

*2023 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Boxing Awards Banquest of Champions ''"Ring Excellence Award"''

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinosa, Luisito 1967 births Living people Bantamweight boxers Featherweight boxers World boxing champions World bantamweight boxing champions World featherweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions Filipino male boxers Boxers from Manila People from Tondo, Manila Filipino male television actors Filipino male film actors