In 1988, Hormillosa competed in a fight-off organized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) for a slot at the 1988 Summer Olympics, as there was a leadership dispute in the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) between Roilo Golez (who had endorsed him) and Mel Lopez.[2][3] Despite putting more damage on his opponent, he lost his fight 2–3 and his coach filed a protest to the POC.[4] The protest was a success, and POC president Jose Sering overturned the judges' decision, as they were biased towards Lopez's boxers.[5] A few days later, the Manila regional trial court issued a restraining order to Sering, preventing him from sending Hormillosa to the Olympics.[3] Sering had to endorse his and five other boxers' participation in front of the Court of Appeals, which was successful.[6][7] Hormillosa's opponent also stepped aside, clearing the way for him to participate.[8] He was the last Filipino athlete to officially qualify for that year's Olympics.[9]
Hormillosa competed in the men's bantamweight event during the Olympics, where he got to face off against Jorge Julio Rocha of Colombia in what would be his first international fight.[9] He lost, as the fight was ruled an RSC (referee stopped contest) in the third round.[10] Almost all of the Filipino boxers who competed that year did not make it past the first round except for Leopoldo Serantes, who went on to win a bronze medal.[11]
