Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte handed Philippine National Police Chief General Nicolas Torre III a win by default after failing to show up for the "Boxing for a Cause: Laban Para sa Nasalanta" event held on Sunday, July 27, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
According to a report by Val Gonzales, thousands of spectators attended and eagerly waited for the main event. Moments after Torre entered the ring, a 10-count was made to determine whether Duterte would appear but he never did.
Before the main event, two undercard matches were held.
In an interview with the media after the bout, Torre said he had anticipated Duterte's absence but chose to proceed with the event to support those affected by recent typhoons and flooding.
Torre said the event raised a total of ₱16.3 million, including ₱350,000 collected on the day of the match.
In a new episode of the Basta Dabawenyo podcast released on Saturday, Baste Duterte explained that he could not attend the Sunday match due to prior commitments.
"I cannot be there on Sunday. I have other things to do. Pero Tuesday available na ako. Tuesday, Wednesday, or any other day," he said.
Duterte earlier challenged Torre to a fistfight, claiming the general was only brave because of his position.
Torre accepted the challenge and said it would be a good opportunity to help those affected by the typhoon.
Last Thursday, Torre began his training.
Duterte, meanwhile, later said that he had long wanted to "beat up a monkey" and criticized Torre for using charity as a justification for the fight.
He said he is willing to fight Torre on one condition: that all elected officials undergo a hair follicle drug test.
It can be recalled that Torre led the PNP when former President Rodrigo Duterte was served an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
