Torre to Baste Duterte: Get ready to rumble

PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III —PNP photo and Davao City acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte —PDP Laban Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Will there be a “Thrilla at Araneta?”

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III on Wednesday accepted the challenge to a fistfight thrown by Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, the youngest son of former President Rodrigo Duterte, going as far as to identify the venue, referee and date of the fight as he also set his own condition.

“It’s just right. Many of our citizens now are in need of help and affected by the storms and the floods. So, maybe this is a very good time for a charity boxing match. We can do it on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum,” Torre told reporters.

READ: Baste Duterte dares PNP chief to a fistfight; Torre accepts the challenge

“It’s okay with me if he really is serious,” he said, referring to the younger Duterte.

Tens of thousands of Filipinos are reeling from days of heavy rains and floods induced by storms and the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) that have cut a wide swath of devastation in many parts of the country, especially on the main island of Luzon.

Why not throw in Pacquiao as a referee, too? Torre also suggested.

The 46-year-old Pacquiao settled for a majority draw in his comeback fight against Mexican American champion Mario Barrios in Las Vegas on July 20.

Running feud

Torre and Sebastian Duterte, the acting mayor of Davao City, have a running feud that was triggered by the elder Duterte’s arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, to face charges of crimes against humanity over his war on drugs.

It was Torre, then chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, who enforced the former president’s arrest based on an ICC warrant upon his arrival from Hong Kong on March 11.

In his podcast “Basta Dabawenyo” last Sunday, the young Duterte jabbed at Torre, saying, “You’re only brave because you are in power. If we have a fistfight, I can take you on, if that’s all there is to it.”

The counterpunch, however, from the PNP chief was swift. He suggested that they face off this coming Sunday, July 27, at the Araneta Coliseum, where Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought their third and final boxing match in a fight dubbed the “Thrilla in Manila” on Oct. 1, 1975. Ali won the brutal fight. /cb