Luisito Pio Espinosa (born June 26, 1967) is a Filipino actor and former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2005. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title from 1989 to 1991 and the World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight title from 1995 to 1999.

Professional career Espinosa turned professional in 1984. In 1989, he won the WBA Bantamweight 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 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 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. 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 by Cristóbal Cruz. 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 (MMA) scene by training brothers Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz in boxing to improve their stand-up. He also assisted in the training of the University of San Francisco'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 Carlos Rios. In 2017, he moved to the Everlast Gym as a boxing trainer in downtown Dalian city in mainland China.

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

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes60Loss47–13 Cristóbal CruzTKO3 (10), Feb 18, 2005 59Loss47–12 Carlos NavarroTKO7 (10), Jul 9, 2004 58Win47–11 Marco Angel PérezTKO1 (10), May 27, 2003 57Loss46–11 Zahir RaheemTKO8 (10), Oct 11, 2002 56Win45–10 Ever BelenoTKO2 (10), May 23, 2002 55Loss44–10 Augie SanchezTKO4 (10), Jan 6, 2001 54Win44–9 Ramon AragonRTD4 (8), Oct 20, 2000 53Loss43–9 Guty Espadas Jr.TD11 (12), Apr 14, 2000 52Loss43–8 César SotoUD12May 15, 1999 51Win43–7 Kennedy McKinneyTKO2 (12), Nov 28, 1998 50Win42–7 Juan Carlos RamírezTD11 (12), Aug 15, 1998 49Win41–7 Carlos RiosTKO6 (12), Dec 6, 1997 48Win40–7 Manuel MedinaTD8 (12), May 17, 1997 47Win39–7 Nobutoshi HiranakaTKO8 (12), Nov 2, 1996 46Win38–7 César SotoUD12Jul 6, 1996 45Win37–7 Alejandro GonzálezTKO4 (12), Mar 1, 1996 44Win36–7 Manuel MedinaUD12Dec 11, 1995 43Win35–7 Raúl PérezTKO1 (10), Oct 9, 1995 42Win34–7 Tomoaki IwasaTKO7Jul 30, 1995 41Win33–7 Singnum ChuwatanaTKO8 (10)May 6, 1995 40Win32–7 Yong Heung-NamTKO2May 14, 1994 39Loss31–7 Alejandro GonzálezTKO2 (12), Aug 13, 1993 38Win31–6 Boyet AndalesTKO3 (10), May 20, 1993 37Win30–6 Raul MoraSD12Feb 20, 1993 36Win29–6 Evgeny BurchakUD10Nov 28, 1992 35Win28–6 Thanomchit KiatkriengkraiKO 1 (10)Sep 26, 1992 34Win28–6 Eduardo RojasUD10Jul 17, 1992 33Win27–6 Rudy CabilesUD10Mar 14, 1992 32Loss26–6 Israel ContrerasKO5 (12), Oct 19, 1991 31Win26–5 Thanomsak SithbaobayUD12Nov 29, 1990 30Win25–5 Jun Young-ManTKO1 (10), Oct 12, 1990 29Win24–5 Hurley SneadRTD8 (12), May 30, 1990 28Win23–5 Juan MendozaTKO3 (10), Dec 1, 1989 27Win22–5 Kaokor GalaxyKO1 (12), Oct 18, 1989 26Win21–5 Keiichi OzakiUD10Aug 30, 1989 25Win20–5 Park Young-DukTKO2 (10), Jun 28, 1989 24Win19–5 Pedro RodriguezTKO4 (10), Apr 28, 1989 23Win18–5 Somboonyod SingsamangTKO1 (10), Feb 18, 1989 22Loss17–5 Min Young-ChunSD10Dec 4, 198821Win17–4 Mauro DiazKO2 (12), Jul 23, 198820Win16–4 Ron CisnerosUD10May 20, 198819Loss15–4 Juan José EstradaTKO10 (12)Mar 14, 198818Win15–3 Loremor Pontino KO3 (10), Sep 27, 198717Win14–3 Dadoy Andujar UD10Sep 5, 198716Win13–3 Roger PilapilTKO4 (10), May 16, 198715Win12–3 Ruben De La CruzKO9Feb 7, 198714Win11–3 Lee Bong-HoUD10Nov 8, 198613Win10–3 Ari BlancaPTS10Jun 25, 198612Win9–3 Robinson CabusaoPTS8Mar 22, 198611Loss8–3 Dadoy AndujarSD10Feb 2, 198610Loss8–2 Jun ResmaPTS10Dec 6, 19859Win8–1 Romy NavarretePTS10Jul 19, 19858Win7–1 Roger PilapilUD10May 29, 19857Win6–1 Romy AustriaPTS10Mar 22, 19856Win5–1 Titong DignosPTS6Nov 16, 19845Win4–1 Danny DuranTKO2 (6)Sep 22, 19844Win3–1 Manuel CorpusKO3 (6), Sep 15, 19843Loss2–1 Ariel SamsonPTS6Aug 17, 19842Win2–0 Ric SantiagoPTS4Jul 29, 19841Win1–0 Vladimer RaffyPTS4May 25, 1984

Awards and recognition 2023 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Boxing Awards Banquest of Champions "Ring Excellence Award"

Filmography Film Year Title Role Ref(s): 1997 Bagsik ng Kamao David

Television Year Title Role Notes Ref(s): 2023–2024 Batang Quiapo Roberto Supporting cast

See also List of Filipino boxing world champions

References

External links