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Replay: 35 years ago, Rolando Navarrete orchestrated Hollywood-style comeback

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Dennis Gasgonia, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/01/17/rolando-navarrete-011717.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">The stories that appeared on the Bulletin Today reporting the Rolando Navarrete-Choi Chung-Il fight in January 1982.</div></figcaption></figure></div>Thirty-five years ago on January 16, 1982, Rolando Navarrete completed perhaps the most dramatic comeback of his career when he took on Choi Chung-Il, a determined, rangy opponent from South Korea.Navarrete was just 4 1/2 months removed from celebrating his WBC super-featherweight title victory over Cornelius Boza-Edwards whom he knocked out in five rounds in Italy, on August 29, 1981.Leading up to the Choi fight, Navarrete, who apparently started boxing when he was 16 years old, already had 54 bouts tucked under his belt. (For context, Manny Pacquiao has been fighting for 22 years now; his match count stands at 67.)The “Bad Boy from Dadiangas” was lined up to make his first title defense against the relatively unknown Choi, who had won all but one of his 13 fights by knockout at that point.Navarrete-Choi, which was held at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, was a big deal back then as the 15-rounder was the first world title fight to be held in Manila since the epic “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975.Navarrete, then 24 years old, was pegged as a 10-8 favorite although he was two inches shorter than Choi. The South Korean arrived in Manila on January 2 and was sure of upsetting the Filipino champion. “Choi, accompanied by his manager and trainer, said he is ready and confident of a victory although Navarrete is a good and tough champion,&quot; according to a Bulletin Today report dated January 3, 1982.Navarrete, who had been based in Hawaii for a while, arrived in Manila two weeks earlier together with his Japanese manager Paul Sakamoto and Puerto Rican trainer Toney Rodriguez.Navarette’s camp decided to play mind games against Choi by refusing to have Navarrete to spar in front of the Korean during the press-public preview. Instead of sparring like Choi, Navarrete shadow boxed for two rounds with his trainer.Choi was irked that he refused to pose for pictures with Navarrete after the latter’s workout.The psy-war apparently didn’t work.During fight night on January 16, Navarrete found himself being tagged repeatedly by the jabs and piston-like right cross from Choi who wisely kept himself beyond the Filipino’s reach.A one-two combination in the fifth round wobbled the knees of the Filipino boxer. Smelling blood, Choi unloaded a couple more of one-two combos and Navarrete was down to the canvass for the first time of his career.Navarrete quickly got up but his troubles didn’t stop there. In the 10th, he was again on the verge of hitting the deck.Fortunately, he timed the Korean with a killer combination of his own and the sort of comeback that can only be written in Hollywood movies began to unfold.“As if from nowhere, (Navarrete) came through with a body punch that dropped Choi to the canvass instead. That set up Navarrete for the crucial 11th, although Choi showed no signs of retreating as he fought the champion blow-for-blow in the middle of the ring,” reported the Bulletin Today.“Navarrete, who finally found his opponent&#x27;s weak spot, clubbed Choi with a powerful punch to the midsection. Choi nearly doubled over and Navarrete followed that up with a crunching right hook that caught the challenger smack in the left side of his face.“Choi, who had scored 12 of his previous wins by knockouts, dropped to his knees as if in prayer then rolled over the canvass.”American referee Charles Hasset counted Choi and it was over 1:35 into the 11th round.The crowd that numbered close to 30,000 at the stadium exploded in celebration after witnessing &quot;one of the best fights here in years.&quot;&quot;I didn&#x27;t see his punches. He was so fast,&quot; said a dazed Navarrete following the bout. &quot;Did I really go down? Sayang &#x27;yun ang first knockdown ko sa aking boxing career.&quot;Navarrete later disclosed that part of his strategy against Choi was allowing to get himself hit. He knew that that was the only way he could sneak in his body shots with Choi&#x27;s superior reach.Postscript: Everything went downhill for Navarrete after the Choi fight. He would lose the championship four months later to Bazooka Lemon in Las Vegas. In 1984, he was <a href="http://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/10/09/Former-boxing-champion-Rolando-Navarrete-was-ordered-to-prison/7095466142400/" target="_blank">convicted</a> for kidnapping and sexually abusing a woman in Hawaii. According to a <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/17/09/navarrete-cautionary-tale-pinoy-boxers" target="_blank">report</a> by Agence France-Presse in 2009, he sells fish in General Santos City.~Statistics courtesy of <a href="http://boxrec.com/" target="_blank">BoxRec.com</a><div>(ABS-CBN News flips through the pages of sports history with a debut series called &quot;Replay.&quot; Readers get to relive legendary games, fights and sports moments as they were reported at the time they happened.)</div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

On January 16, 1982, Rolando Navarrete completed perhaps the most dramatic comeback of his career against South Korean Choi Chung-II.

On January 16, 1982, Rolando Navarrete completed perhaps the most dramatic comeback of his career against South Korean Choi Chung-II.

Replay: 35 years ago, Rolando Navarrete orchestrated Hollywood-style comeback

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Replay: 35 years ago, Rolando Navarrete orchestrated Hollywood-style comeback

Dennis Gasgonia,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 17, 2017 11:15 PM PHT

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Updated January 18, 2017 01:18 AM PHT

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Replay

Rolando Navarrete

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