Rene Fortaleza (born 30 October 1954 – October 17, 2003) was a Filipino

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, coach,

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, and executive. He competed in the men's flyweight event at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

. There, he lost to Fujio Nagai of Japan. After retiring, he became the secretary-general of the

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (formerly Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines until 2013), or ABAP, is the governing body for amateur boxing in the Philippines. History On May 30, 2013, ABAP held its first gen ...

Personal life

Fortaleza came from a boxing family. Three of his seven brothers, Ric, Roger, and Rey, became boxers. He studied at

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...

, where he also worked as a security officer.

Career

Fortaleza won the featherweight gold during the 1971 Asian Youth Boxing Championships, which led to his Olympic stint. The following year, he competed in the men's flyweight event at the

. There, he lost to Fujio Nagai of Japan. He then won the silver medal in the 1975 Asian Boxing Championships and a gold medal in the 1979 ASEAN Boxing Championships.

Post-boxing career

He and his brother Rey were the coaches of the national boxing team from 1987 to 1988. In 1988, Fortaleza was one of the judges of several fight-offs for a spot in the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were repres ...

during a time when there was a leadership dispute in the

between Gemiliano "Mel" Lopez and

Roilo Golez José Roilo Solís Gólez (January 9, 1947 – June 11, 2018) was a Filipino politician who last served his sixth term as Member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the Second District of Parañaque,Metro winners known, proc ...

. In one of the fight-offs, he and the other judges favored a boxer who was endorsed by Lopez despite the other boxer, Michael Hormillosa, dealing more damage to him. The judges were in Lopez's camp as well, and ruled their fighter the winner. After Hormillosa's coach protested, the

Philippine Olympic Committee The Philippine Olympic Committee Inc. (POC) is the National Olympic Committee of the Philippines. The POC is a private, non-governmental organization composed of and serve as the mother organization of all National Sports Associations (NSAs) in ...

reversed their decision, and Hormillosa was among the athletes who competed in Seoul. In 1989, Fortaleza became the secretary-general of the ABAP under Lopez. In 1992, he was a boxing referee and judge for the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. After his cancer diagnosis, he briefly stepped away from his ABAP duties and went abroad to rest with his relatives. He then returned to the country and resumed his duties with the ABAP. He was at the 2003 Xinjiang International Boxing Championships which saw Filipino boxer

Violito Payla Violito Payla (born January 8, 1979, in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental) is an amateur boxer from the Philippines best known for winning the Asian Games 2006 at flyweight. At the 2002 Asian Games he beat Tulashboy Doniyorov but lost to Nom ...

lose to China’s Guo Xianshuan, which the Philippine team protested.

Death

During the final two years of his life, Fortaleza had been battling cancer and had been undergoing chemotherapy in his last months. In October, after supervising a tournament in

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

, he began suffering from the flu and had difficulty breathing. After staying at a hospital there, he returned to Manila where he was brought to the

Philippine General Hospital The Philippine General Hospital (also known as University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital or UP–Philippine General Hospital), simply referred to as UP–PGH or PGH, is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated ...

. On October 17, 2003, he died due to multiple organ failure at 7 p.m. His remains lie with his family in

Antipolo Antipolo, officially the City of Antipolo (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

References

1954 births Living people Filipino male boxers Olympic boxers for the Philippines Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing (living people) Boxers at the 1978 Asian Games Asian Games boxers for the Philippines Flyweight boxers 20th-century Filipino sportsmen {{Authority control 2003 deaths