Tragic End for Filipino Boxer Toto Landero
Filipino boxer Toto Landero was 26 when he died after being swept away while crossing the Tabla River in Negros Occidental in July 2022. He was a former challenger for the WBA minimumweight title.
A minimumweight title challenger
Landero challenged Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong for the WBA minimumweight championship in March 2018, losing by unanimous decision. The WBA later confirmed his death and offered condolences to his family and the Filipino boxing community.
Local reporting said Landero and a relative were trying to cross the river after heavy rain when rising water swept him away. Search teams recovered his body two days later. The account of his career is brief but consequential: Landero reached a world-title contest and remained an active professional boxer until the year he died.
The title bout took place in Chonburi on March 6, 2018. Niyomtrong, widely known as Knockout CP Freshmart, was making his fourth defense of the WBA championship. Landero completed the scheduled twelve rounds against an unbeaten champion, although all three judges awarded the contest to the Thai boxer.
Landero entered that opportunity following two wins in 2017. His results included a split-decision victory over Vic Saludar and a points win against Powell Balaba. Those performances helped him rebuild after a stoppage loss to Joey Canoy and take the next step from domestic competition to a world-title challenge abroad.
Although he did not return from Thailand with the belt, the bout remains a defining sporting achievement of his career. It placed him in a championship contest against an established minimumweight titleholder and gave him twelve rounds of experience at that level. Remembering that competitive journey provides context beyond the circumstances of his death.
Selected career results
The WBA’s contemporary result report gives the Niyomtrong scorecards as 119–109, 117–111 and 115–113. It recorded Landero at ten wins, two losses and two draws after the contest. Those figures describe the March 2018 checkpoint in his career, rather than a final professional record.
Sources
- World Boxing Association: tribute to Toto Landero
- SunStar: Landero’s death and recovery
- SPIN.ph: career and death report
Additional career sources: WBA championship report and Fightful’s title-fight coverage.
Sources: https://www.wbaboxing.com/boxing-news/niyomtrong-retained-his-wba-belt-against-landero
