Libatique becomes UNLV’s first champ

Dean Juipe

Thursday, April 1, 1999 | 10:25 a.m.

At 12 years old, Manny Libatique wasn't quite ready for boxing. Nonetheless, he gave it a try.

"My uncle was an amateur fighter and my idol," he said. "He fought at the Showboat and worked out at the Golden Gloves Gym, and I trained with him for about a half a year.

"But I didn't stick with it."

Ten years later, it's Libatique in the position of idol.

Last weekend in Reno, he became UNLV's first-ever national club boxing champion, winning all three of his matches in the featherweight division.

Considering he's now 22 years old and hadn't touched a glove or a punching bag for a decade until last October, Libatique has made something of a stirring comeback.

"When I first saw him in October, I could tell he had good skills," said UNLV coach Skip Kelp. "He continued to progress during the season and even before we went to the nationals I thought he had a chance to win.

"He has an awkward style: tall and rangy with a good jab. And he keeps himself out of those toe-to-toe brawls that most collegiate fighters like to get into."

Libatique, a sophomore with an undeclared major, was one of three UNLV participants in the tournament at UNR. One teammate, super heavyweight Chris Woywood, joined him as a medalist, taking home the silver with a 2-1 record.

Libatique defeated boxers from Michigan, Navy and Kentucky to claim first place at 125 pounds.

"The second fight was the toughest of the three," he said. "The first fight I had to chase the guy, and the second fight was more of a brawl. The third fight I sort of put the two together."

A native of Las Vegas who attended high school at Green Valley (as a freshman) and Rancho, Libatique said he didn't hesitate when he heard UNLV was initiating a club boxing team last fall.

"I think I was the first to sign up," he said. "I called immediately and was real excited about it. My dad had asked me a couple of times if I was interested in boxing again, and when this came along it sort of all fell in my lap.

"I took advantage of the situation and put some hard work into it."

Kelp was among those ecstatic with the results.

"This is huge for our program," he said.

"To have a national champion in our first year puts us on the right track."

Libatique said he "had joked around about being UNLV's first national champion," but now that he has achieved that goal he may have to reconsider his boxing career. Could this lead to turning pro?

"Not for a while at least," he said.

"I'll spend the summer just training hard and maybe try to become a full-blown amateur first.

"I still need some work."