By Gabriel F. Cordero

WBA ring official Gustavo Padilla became the first Panamanian referee to participate in 100 world championship fights. Padilla performed the feat last Saturday night in the clash between Edivaldo Ortega and Jhack Tepora at the Xiata Arena in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia for the vacant WBA featherweight world title.

Padilla made his first appearance on December 21, 1991, in the WBA super flyweight clash between champion Khaosai Galaxy and challenger Amancio Castro at the Thailand National Stadium in Bangkok. Since then he has worked world championship fights in Mexico, China, England, Japan, the United States, Colombia, Northern Ireland, Germany, Puerto Rico, Indonesia, Venezuela, Thailand, Malasya, Nicaragua, France, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama and El Salvador. Padilla is also one of the managers of the WBA training programs.