In any given sport, mixing prohibited substance to go with your performance will nullify your chances to achieve excellence.
No one can get away from this brouhaha, not even the most gifted athlete in the world which was proven in the past.
Geronimo Bie is a promising boxer in the 80’s and has lots of potential to become one of the best in this field.
Before Manny Pacquiao made history in boxing, Bie rode the distinction of being the first Filipino to represent Canada in international competitions.
His contemporaries like Olympic boxer Manny Sobral said there was a huge resemblance between Pacquiao and Bie, not only in size, but the way they throw in punches that comes in bunches.
“Pacquiao and Bie was both unorthodox in terms of style in the ring,” he says.
He could have taken boxing by storm through his dedication during his younger years.
Born in Zamboanga and grew up in the suburbs of Vancouver Downtown Eastside, Bie first trained in Astoria Boxing Club
The 45-year-old pug was one of the most popular fighters on the Canadian national team back in the late 1980’s, early 90’s, and certainly one of the most talented — the highlight of Bie’s national team career a silver medal he won at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.
Bie had a spark. He was a rascal and his teammates loved him for it.
“We called him a shiny button”, said George Angelomatis, his former coach. “And as a boxer, he was magic.”
“He was always up to some mischief,” said Strange, with a laugh.
But the little Filipino-Canadian also had a dark side, and after he left the national team, his life spun out of control.
His path to Olympic glory is on its way when misfortune struck what could have been an illustrious career for him.
Bie was disqualified in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics after testing positive with heroin and cocaine.
The foundation he builds for a successful campaign in this field suddenly came crushing down and totally devastated his promising career.
Sobral predicts that if Bie had stayed clean and stuck with boxing, he probably would have been an Olympic medalist. At the very least, he would have been a world-ranked contender in his weight category.
“Everyone gravitated to Geronimo. He was such a likable guy that he was party central and that led him to try the drugs that you could get addicted to.”
On a bright side, Bie is one of the eight nominees this year to be inducted in BC Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame.
