Boxer Socrates Batoto: The Unsung Filipino Boxing Legend
Edgar “Socrates” Batoto, also known as “Kid” Batoto, was a Filipino professional boxer from Bato, Leyte. The Philippine Boxing Hall of Fame describes him as a Waray fighter and records a career spanning 1968 to 1978. He competed as a flyweight and later at bantamweight, and was recognized as a Philippine and Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation flyweight champion.
Video note: The clip is labeled as a “Bajel fight” in Maasin with Socrates Batoto.
Title bouts and championship record
Batoto challenged Betulio González for the WBC flyweight championship in Caracas in June 1972 and lost by fourth-round knockout. In December 1975 he challenged Alfonso Zamora for the WBA bantamweight title in Mexico City and was stopped in the second round. Contemporary Philippine sportswriter Joaquin Henson later recalled both world-title bids. Batoto did not win a world championship.
Batoto’s résumé also included regional and Philippine titles. The Philippine Boxing Hall of Fame says he was honored at the 2016 Elorde Awards for his achievements as a Philippine and OPBF flyweight champion. Its account recalls that trainer-manager Hermie Rivera guided Batoto to his two world-title challenges; a 2001 Philstar profile likewise lists Batoto among the fighters Rivera managed or assisted.
Sources
- Philippine Boxing Hall of Fame: Socrates Batoto profile and career recollections
- Philstar: Hermie remembers Elorde (May 2013)
- Philstar: Back in town (March 2001)
- Boxerlist: Socrates Batoto bout record
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
