The son of an Olympic boxer and actor, Padilla's professional career began as an actor, where he was known a commercial advertisement of "Family Rubbing Alcohol" with the famous slogan, Hindi lang pampamilya, pang-isports pa. His acting career spanned over 40 years, with his final credited role in Sige, Subukan Mo in 1998.
Padilla first came to international prominence as a referee when he refereed the third fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, known as the "Thrilla in Manila".[2] Before the fight, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch, who was concerned about potential officiating bias and had strongly criticized the performance of referee Tony Perez during Ali and Frazier's second fight, objected to all three American referees who had traveled to the Philippines. Futch suggested that a local official should be used, so Padilla, who was little known outside his home country, was chosen; Padilla only learned of his selection the day before the fight.[2] Despite having 11 years of experience, it was Padilla's first time officiating a fight above the 135-lb. weight class.[3] On his official scorecard for the fight (which Ali won by TKO after 14 rounds),[4] Padilla scored in favor of Ali, 66-60.[5]
He refereed his final bout on October 14, 2000, between Manny Pacquiao and Nedal Hussein in the Philippines, a fight in which he admitted to cheating in order to help Pacquiao win.[8]
