Denver loses belt, but to unnamed cab

DENVER Cuello lost his belt. However, it wasn’t inside the ring, but in a taxi.

Cuello, a top contender in the mini-flyweight division, left his World Boxing Council (WBC) silver mini-flyweight crown inside a taxi that he rode going home after an interview the other night, according to the GMA News website.

Cuello was unable to catch the name of either the taxi company or the taxi’s plate number. He is asking the driver of the taxi to return the belt, which he won last year with a first-round technical knockout over Mexican Carlos Perez in Mexico.

“Sana po maibalik sa akin yung belt ko kasi pinaghirapan ko po talaga ‘yun (I hope the belt will be returned to me because I worked hard for it),” he said.

The 25-year-old Iloilo native is fresh from a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Mexican Ivan Meneses last Sept. 29 in Mexico. He has won his last 11 fights, which included three wins in Mexico against Mexican boxers.

Cuello, 32-4-6 with 21 knockouts, is awaiting the winner of the world title fight between Chinese Xiong Zhao Zhong and Mexican Javier Martinez on Nov. 24 in Kunming, China for the vacant WBC mini-flyweight strap.