Extra Mile @ World Cup
Bleacher Talk
August 12, 2007
Extra Mile @ World Cup
What will it take for the Philippines to win the Philippines-Mexico showdown today? Talent? Skills? Heart? Yes to, all plus a whole lot more. As the six boxers go up on the ring, they’ll have to remember that while their skills are at par with the world’s best, skills alone can’t assure you of wins.
For Boom Boom and company, they’ve got to go the extra mile. Do more than the usual. Go out of the box. Stretch it to the limits, even beyond the limits. Unfortunately for us, the “other side” of boxing is not on our side and may never ever be on our side at all. Boxing politics have always been favorable to Latinos and not us Asians. After all, all the boxing bodies are dominated and ran by Spanish-speaking boxing “gods.”
I’d like to see Boom Boom Bautista win, but it’s not going to be easy. This early, people are already predicting a sure win for Boom Boom, and he hasn’t even gone up the ring yet! Let’s put everything in the proper perspective. For starters, Ponce De Leon is not a champion for nothing. He earned his championship fair and square, regardless of what people say about all the political connections that his managers might have with the WBO.
He may look awkward when he fights, but the fact remains the same. He has the belt and Boom Boom doesn’t. The same was said about Fernando Montiel being awkward and Z Gorres being the better, more technical boxer. I’m sure we all remember who won that fight. Like Gorres, Boom Boom is also a better technical boxer than De Leon, but this doesn’t guaranty a win.
Boom Boom will have to show that he is out to get the championship as this won’t be given to him on a silver platter. He’s going to have to punish De Leon in a one-sided fight, and not let it go the distance if he can help it. Judges should be left out of the decision-making. If the fight goes the distance, we can be assured of a Boom Boom win only if he sends De Leon down at least twice and dominated the entire fight. We just can’t leave anything to chance and leave the decision to people outside of the two boxers.
As a strategy, I’d like to see Boom Boom do what Gerry Peñalosa did against De Leon, but triple Gerry’s volume of punches and aggressiveness (go the extra mile). Remember that although many in press row believed that Peñalosa won that fight, all three judges rewarded De Leon a lopsided win. Gerry put on a masterful display of defense with a perfect blend of counter-punching. Each time De Leon thought he had Gerry’s number, Gerry was somewhere else and hitting De Leon with counter right hook-left straight combinations. Left uppercuts were also aplenty, making De Leon’s head pump up occasionally.
De Leon is a very hittable target with his awkward style. While Boom Boom’s right hand may be his most lethal weapon, I see his vaunted (and underrated) left hook coming into the picture as THE blow that will spell the difference. But this has to be set up with his jab-straight leads as he constantly moves to his left to avoid Ponce De Leon’s left straight. Boom Boom will also be in better shape to win if he goes to the body early in the fight. Boom Boom’s body shots are vicious and as long as he is patient with body shots in the early rounds, De Leon should end up wilting around the middle rounds.
Boom Boom will also have to move more. Gerry’s main problem with the judges may have been his willingness to just stand in front of De Leon and allow himself to be tagged by De Leon’s punches, many of which landed on Gerry’s arms and gloves. While this was an excellent show of defense, the judges obviously saw otherwise. With his longer arms and more punches thrown, it looked as though De Leon was the busier puncher of the two. And in a sense, that’s true. More punches meant more points from the judges’ perspective. Boom Boom should learn from this situation and show the judges that both defense and tons of punches in a one-sided fight will do the trick.
For Peñalosa and Z Gorres, it’s literally back to square one after heart-breaking losses to the “gods” of boxing. Both proved that if they last 12 rounds against Mexicans on top of the ring and not totally dominate the opponent, their chances of winning are almost nil.
In their previous fights, Peñalosa and Gorres didn’t do enough to please the judges. While many in the crowd may have felt that they did enough, we have to remember that as a challenger, you’re out there to take away the championship. You’ve got to show that you really want it by doing more than the usual. You’ve got to go 110% since your 100% simply wasn’t enough. The down side for both is that they’re such graceful boxers but without a legitimate knock-out punch. Many times, they’ll be at the mercy of the pens of judges. They simply have to find a way to pummel, outpunch, dominate and overwhelm their opponents completely. Every round has to be a shut-out. No more, no less.
This is what the other members of the team (AJ Banal, Michael Domingo and Diosdado Gabi) will also have to do against their respective foes.
Go the extra mile and win the World Cup.
***
Time-out: Happy birthday to Ayee Venida! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com
August 12, 2007
Extra Mile @ World Cup
What will it take for the Philippines to win the Philippines-Mexico showdown today? Talent? Skills? Heart? Yes to, all plus a whole lot more. As the six boxers go up on the ring, they’ll have to remember that while their skills are at par with the world’s best, skills alone can’t assure you of wins.
For Boom Boom and company, they’ve got to go the extra mile. Do more than the usual. Go out of the box. Stretch it to the limits, even beyond the limits. Unfortunately for us, the “other side” of boxing is not on our side and may never ever be on our side at all. Boxing politics have always been favorable to Latinos and not us Asians. After all, all the boxing bodies are dominated and ran by Spanish-speaking boxing “gods.”
I’d like to see Boom Boom Bautista win, but it’s not going to be easy. This early, people are already predicting a sure win for Boom Boom, and he hasn’t even gone up the ring yet! Let’s put everything in the proper perspective. For starters, Ponce De Leon is not a champion for nothing. He earned his championship fair and square, regardless of what people say about all the political connections that his managers might have with the WBO.
He may look awkward when he fights, but the fact remains the same. He has the belt and Boom Boom doesn’t. The same was said about Fernando Montiel being awkward and Z Gorres being the better, more technical boxer. I’m sure we all remember who won that fight. Like Gorres, Boom Boom is also a better technical boxer than De Leon, but this doesn’t guaranty a win.
Boom Boom will have to show that he is out to get the championship as this won’t be given to him on a silver platter. He’s going to have to punish De Leon in a one-sided fight, and not let it go the distance if he can help it. Judges should be left out of the decision-making. If the fight goes the distance, we can be assured of a Boom Boom win only if he sends De Leon down at least twice and dominated the entire fight. We just can’t leave anything to chance and leave the decision to people outside of the two boxers.
As a strategy, I’d like to see Boom Boom do what Gerry Peñalosa did against De Leon, but triple Gerry’s volume of punches and aggressiveness (go the extra mile). Remember that although many in press row believed that Peñalosa won that fight, all three judges rewarded De Leon a lopsided win. Gerry put on a masterful display of defense with a perfect blend of counter-punching. Each time De Leon thought he had Gerry’s number, Gerry was somewhere else and hitting De Leon with counter right hook-left straight combinations. Left uppercuts were also aplenty, making De Leon’s head pump up occasionally.
De Leon is a very hittable target with his awkward style. While Boom Boom’s right hand may be his most lethal weapon, I see his vaunted (and underrated) left hook coming into the picture as THE blow that will spell the difference. But this has to be set up with his jab-straight leads as he constantly moves to his left to avoid Ponce De Leon’s left straight. Boom Boom will also be in better shape to win if he goes to the body early in the fight. Boom Boom’s body shots are vicious and as long as he is patient with body shots in the early rounds, De Leon should end up wilting around the middle rounds.
Boom Boom will also have to move more. Gerry’s main problem with the judges may have been his willingness to just stand in front of De Leon and allow himself to be tagged by De Leon’s punches, many of which landed on Gerry’s arms and gloves. While this was an excellent show of defense, the judges obviously saw otherwise. With his longer arms and more punches thrown, it looked as though De Leon was the busier puncher of the two. And in a sense, that’s true. More punches meant more points from the judges’ perspective. Boom Boom should learn from this situation and show the judges that both defense and tons of punches in a one-sided fight will do the trick.
For Peñalosa and Z Gorres, it’s literally back to square one after heart-breaking losses to the “gods” of boxing. Both proved that if they last 12 rounds against Mexicans on top of the ring and not totally dominate the opponent, their chances of winning are almost nil.
In their previous fights, Peñalosa and Gorres didn’t do enough to please the judges. While many in the crowd may have felt that they did enough, we have to remember that as a challenger, you’re out there to take away the championship. You’ve got to show that you really want it by doing more than the usual. You’ve got to go 110% since your 100% simply wasn’t enough. The down side for both is that they’re such graceful boxers but without a legitimate knock-out punch. Many times, they’ll be at the mercy of the pens of judges. They simply have to find a way to pummel, outpunch, dominate and overwhelm their opponents completely. Every round has to be a shut-out. No more, no less.
This is what the other members of the team (AJ Banal, Michael Domingo and Diosdado Gabi) will also have to do against their respective foes.
Go the extra mile and win the World Cup.
***
Time-out: Happy birthday to Ayee Venida! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com
Comments