Leopoldo Cantancio (July 6, 1963 – April 20, 2018) was a Filipino boxer who competed for his native country at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. He won a silver medal at the

1986 Asian Games The 1986 Asian Games ( ko, 1986년 아시아 경기대회/1986년 아시안 게임, Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 10th Asian Games and the X Asiad ( ko, 제10� ...

and a bronze medal at the

1990 Asian Games ) , Nations participating = 36 , Athletes participating = 6,122 , Events = 308 in 27 sports , Opening ceremony = 22 September 1990 , Closing ceremony = 7 October 1990 , Officially opened by = Yang Shangkun , O ...

. and was a two-time gold medalist in the

Asian Amateur Boxing Championships The Asian Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Asia. The first tournament took place in 1963, hosted by Bangkok, Thailand. Men's editions Women's editions Combined editions All-time medal table ...

Career

Cantancio was just 18 years old when he won a bronze medal in the bantamweight division at the

1981 Southeast Asian Games The 1981 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 11th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines from 6 to 15 December 1981. This was the first time that the Philippines hosted the Games since its first pa ...

held in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

. The Bago native took part at the 1982 AIBA World Amateur Championships and was eliminated in the Round of 16. He also participated at the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games ( hi, 1982 एशियाई खेल) were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of t ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

as a featherweight and was knocked out by North Korean Jo Rion-sik in the quarterfinals.Boxing Results
/ref> Cantancio finally tasted success at the

1983 Southeast Asian Games The 1983 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 12th Southeast Asian Games, or informally Singapore 1983, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Singapore from 28 May to 6 June 1983. Scheduled to be hosted by Brunei in accorda ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

when he won the gold medal in the featherweight division. Later that year, he claimed the gold medal in his weight class at the

in Naha after defeating South Korean Lee Choon-kil in the final. Cantancio, along with Nelson Jamili and Efren Tabanas, represented the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

at the

. In his first bout at the Memorial Sports Arena, Cantancio posted a unanimous decision win over Malawi’s Solomon Kondowe. He next beat Pakistan’s Asif Dar to reach the last 16 of the lightweight division. In his next bout, Cantancio absorbed a 2-3 loss to Nigeria’s

Christopher Ossai Christopher Ossai (born 1 April 1957) is a Nigerian boxer. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, both times in the lightweight class.Chun Chil-sung. Against Chun, Cantancio dictated the tempo of the fight before being knocked down by a left hook on the jaw and was counted out halfway through the third and final round. It was a devastating result as a win would’ve guaranteed the Filipino a bronze medal. Cantancio resumed his career after his heartbreaking Olympic stint in Los Angeles and won a gold medal in the lightweight division at the 1985 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

where he was also named Best Boxer of the tournament. At the

, Cantancio secured a silver medal after losing to hometown bet Kwon Hyun-kyu in the final. The following year, Cantancio triumphed in the lightweight division of the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

to claim his second gold medal in the biennial multi-sport spectacle. Cantancio again represented the country at the

but could not duplicate his quarterfinal finish in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Drawn against

Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional b ...

in his opening bout, Cantancio lasted just a round against the hard-hitting

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

boxer who went on to win multiple world titles in the professional ranks. In one of his last major tournaments, Cantancio bagged a bronze medal at the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. Cantancio became a full-time police officer after hanging up his gloves and later became a local coach.

Personal life

Cantancio studied at

Arellano University Arellano University (AU) is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian university located in Manila, the Philippines. It was founded in 1938 as a law school by Florentino Cayco Sr., the first Filipino Undersecretary of Public Instruction. The u ...

Death

On April 20, 2018, while on his way home after attending a boxing tournament in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occi ...

, Cantancio lost control of his motorcycle and slammed into an electric post in Barangay Malingin, Bago. He was rushed to the Bago Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival due to severe head injuries.Adiong, Eugene Y
“Former Negrense boxing Olympian dies in vehicular accident.”
''The Manila Times''. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 03 June 2020. Cantancio had just filed his certificate of candidacy as kagawad at the time of the accident.

Legacy

Despite possessing a

glass jaw Glass jaw may refer to: * a fighter with limited ability to absorb punishment to the chin or jaw * '' Glass Jaw'' (aka ''Lasileuka'', ), a 2004 Finnish short drama film directed by Zaida Bergroth * Glassjaw Glassjaw is an American post-hardcor ...

and failing to win a medal in either the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

AIBA World Boxing Championships The IBA World Boxing Championships, and the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships (previously known as AIBA), are biennial amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is the sport governing body. A ...

, Cantancio is considered among the most decorated Filipino amateur boxers of all-time.

References

External links

Sports-reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantancio, Leopoldo 1963 births 2018 deaths Lightweight boxers Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for the Philippines Asian Games medalists in boxing Boxers at the 1986 Asian Games Boxers at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Filipino male boxers Asian Games silver medalists for the Philippines Asian Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Motorcycle road incident deaths Road incident deaths in the Philippines People from Negros Occidental SEA Games medalists in boxing