Sunday Boxing
Bleacher Talk
September 30, 2007
Sunday Boxing
Sunday boxing? Nothing new here, right? We’re all used to watching the big fights from the U.S. on a Sunday morning since these are held on a Saturday night. When Manny Pacquiao fights Marco Antonio Barrera on Saturday night (October 6) in the U.S. the entire country will be glued to their TV’s on Sunday morning (October 7).
But wait a minute. We’re not talking about a fight in the U.S. We’re talking about Sunday night boxing here in Cebu! Just when you thought that the ALA Boxing Gym and SGG Promotions didn’t have anything new to spice up local boxing, they spring up yet another surprise. After the “Moment of Truth” in February and a foreign-laced boxing promotion last July, SGG is back, this time with Sunday night boxing. I can’t recall watching a boxing event of this magnitude held on a Sunday night, but then again nothing wrong here.
And so the show is on at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel for another night of boxing that promises to be exciting. The highlight of the evening is that it’s not going to be just an ordinary night of the usual stuff. It’s going to be a night of championship boxing! Six out of the seven bouts are all championship fights! This is to be capped by the main event featuring a world championship fight. Now how much more can you ask for?
Tonight is going to be so important for the ALA Boxing Gym as it sends its third boxer to vie for a world championship in 2007. The year hasn’t exactly gone according to the script written by local boxing. Earlier in the year, Z Gorres lost to Fernando Montiel by split decision last February at the “Moment of Truth.” And we all know what happened to Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista at the World Cup of Boxing. The ALA Boxing Gym is 0-2 so far and Donnie Nietes is out to do what his more popular teammates haven’t done. He faces undefeated Thai Pornsawan Kratingdaenggym for the vacant WBO miniflyweight championship.
Nietes’ low-profile personality as a boxer (vis-à-vis the other more famous ALA Boys) could be the key to a major breakthrough tonight. For one, he’s not on the A-list of ALA boxers who see action in the U.S. Thus, not all boxing fans know him and won’t expect much from a boxer who hasn’t been “tagged” as a future world champion. We can thus expect him to go all-out with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Staying away from the limelight does have its advantages, and this is where Gorres and Boom Boom might learn a few things.
One thing going for Nietes is that he’s going for a vacant world championship. Former champ Ivan Calderon relinquished the throne when he moved up and won the WBO light flyweight championship. This should level the playing field now that Donnie is fighting on home soil. Gorres and Boom Boom went up against current champs, and although they lost in contrasting fashion, it was clear that they needed to do more than the expected and go the extra mile to win a championship. It’s not that Nietes won’t do the same. He’ll certainly go for it but will not have the same amount of pressure that Gorres and Boom Boom had to carry on their shoulders.
To local fans, not much is known about Pornsawan, but the interesting thing in his record is that 15 of his 20 wins have come by knockout. If Nietes is looking for an opportunity to beat Pornsawan, he might find a consolation in the fact that Pornsawan’s five wins that went the distance were all against Pinoys. I’m sure the ALA camp already knows that if Pornsawan went the distance with the likes of Jun Arlos, Nino Suelo, Carlo Besares, Wendell Cajoles and Benjie Sorolla, then Nietes might be able to handle the Thai’s power. We can expect Pornsawan to be the aggressor of the fight as he’ll keep plodding and looking to land his power punches. Nietes will have to be the boxer tonight, and pick his sports in a smart fight. But that’s easier said than done.
While Nietes will be the target of everyone’s attention, you can expect the fights of AJ “Bazooka” Banal and Rocky Fuentes to be just as equally good. Banal is out to prove that he’s ready to take his career to the next level as he faces Esau Gaona of Mexico. Banal is being touted as the next best thing out of the ALA Gym, but I’m certain they’re not going to rush him as he’s only 18 years old. He has to be patient as he slowly but surely learns lesson after lesson from every fight. We can expect his quality of opposition to increase as he gets older until he’s ripe for that shot at the world title.
On the other hand, Fuentes would also like to show that he too, deserves a shot at an international campaign or at least a regional belt. Rocky has had an up-and-down career highlighted by a death of an opponent and an inconsistent showing in big fights. He has been “overtaken” by his other ALA boxers but is capable of catching up. There’s no one else to boost his career other than Rocky himself. Now that he’s a Philippine champion, he must realize that his “easy” days are gone. He should also ignore the pace that the likes of Boom Boom and Banal have set for their respective careers, and set his own. Tonight will be a great opportunity to prove that he’s on pace when he faces ex-Olympian Danilo Lerio. Robert Allanic is another ALA Boxer who’s neither here nor there in his quest to break into the U.S. scene. His winning the WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title in Korea and a TKO loss in the U.S. have been the highlights of his foreign campaign. Whether or not he’s good enough for another U.S. stint will surely depend on how he performs tonight.
So sit back. Relax and complete your Sunday. With Sunday Boxing.
***
Time-out: Happy birthday to Rev. Fr. Ernesto Javier, S.J.! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
September 30, 2007
Sunday Boxing
Sunday boxing? Nothing new here, right? We’re all used to watching the big fights from the U.S. on a Sunday morning since these are held on a Saturday night. When Manny Pacquiao fights Marco Antonio Barrera on Saturday night (October 6) in the U.S. the entire country will be glued to their TV’s on Sunday morning (October 7).
But wait a minute. We’re not talking about a fight in the U.S. We’re talking about Sunday night boxing here in Cebu! Just when you thought that the ALA Boxing Gym and SGG Promotions didn’t have anything new to spice up local boxing, they spring up yet another surprise. After the “Moment of Truth” in February and a foreign-laced boxing promotion last July, SGG is back, this time with Sunday night boxing. I can’t recall watching a boxing event of this magnitude held on a Sunday night, but then again nothing wrong here.
And so the show is on at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel for another night of boxing that promises to be exciting. The highlight of the evening is that it’s not going to be just an ordinary night of the usual stuff. It’s going to be a night of championship boxing! Six out of the seven bouts are all championship fights! This is to be capped by the main event featuring a world championship fight. Now how much more can you ask for?
Tonight is going to be so important for the ALA Boxing Gym as it sends its third boxer to vie for a world championship in 2007. The year hasn’t exactly gone according to the script written by local boxing. Earlier in the year, Z Gorres lost to Fernando Montiel by split decision last February at the “Moment of Truth.” And we all know what happened to Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista at the World Cup of Boxing. The ALA Boxing Gym is 0-2 so far and Donnie Nietes is out to do what his more popular teammates haven’t done. He faces undefeated Thai Pornsawan Kratingdaenggym for the vacant WBO miniflyweight championship.
Nietes’ low-profile personality as a boxer (vis-à-vis the other more famous ALA Boys) could be the key to a major breakthrough tonight. For one, he’s not on the A-list of ALA boxers who see action in the U.S. Thus, not all boxing fans know him and won’t expect much from a boxer who hasn’t been “tagged” as a future world champion. We can thus expect him to go all-out with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Staying away from the limelight does have its advantages, and this is where Gorres and Boom Boom might learn a few things.
One thing going for Nietes is that he’s going for a vacant world championship. Former champ Ivan Calderon relinquished the throne when he moved up and won the WBO light flyweight championship. This should level the playing field now that Donnie is fighting on home soil. Gorres and Boom Boom went up against current champs, and although they lost in contrasting fashion, it was clear that they needed to do more than the expected and go the extra mile to win a championship. It’s not that Nietes won’t do the same. He’ll certainly go for it but will not have the same amount of pressure that Gorres and Boom Boom had to carry on their shoulders.
To local fans, not much is known about Pornsawan, but the interesting thing in his record is that 15 of his 20 wins have come by knockout. If Nietes is looking for an opportunity to beat Pornsawan, he might find a consolation in the fact that Pornsawan’s five wins that went the distance were all against Pinoys. I’m sure the ALA camp already knows that if Pornsawan went the distance with the likes of Jun Arlos, Nino Suelo, Carlo Besares, Wendell Cajoles and Benjie Sorolla, then Nietes might be able to handle the Thai’s power. We can expect Pornsawan to be the aggressor of the fight as he’ll keep plodding and looking to land his power punches. Nietes will have to be the boxer tonight, and pick his sports in a smart fight. But that’s easier said than done.
While Nietes will be the target of everyone’s attention, you can expect the fights of AJ “Bazooka” Banal and Rocky Fuentes to be just as equally good. Banal is out to prove that he’s ready to take his career to the next level as he faces Esau Gaona of Mexico. Banal is being touted as the next best thing out of the ALA Gym, but I’m certain they’re not going to rush him as he’s only 18 years old. He has to be patient as he slowly but surely learns lesson after lesson from every fight. We can expect his quality of opposition to increase as he gets older until he’s ripe for that shot at the world title.
On the other hand, Fuentes would also like to show that he too, deserves a shot at an international campaign or at least a regional belt. Rocky has had an up-and-down career highlighted by a death of an opponent and an inconsistent showing in big fights. He has been “overtaken” by his other ALA boxers but is capable of catching up. There’s no one else to boost his career other than Rocky himself. Now that he’s a Philippine champion, he must realize that his “easy” days are gone. He should also ignore the pace that the likes of Boom Boom and Banal have set for their respective careers, and set his own. Tonight will be a great opportunity to prove that he’s on pace when he faces ex-Olympian Danilo Lerio. Robert Allanic is another ALA Boxer who’s neither here nor there in his quest to break into the U.S. scene. His winning the WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title in Korea and a TKO loss in the U.S. have been the highlights of his foreign campaign. Whether or not he’s good enough for another U.S. stint will surely depend on how he performs tonight.
So sit back. Relax and complete your Sunday. With Sunday Boxing.
***
Time-out: Happy birthday to Rev. Fr. Ernesto Javier, S.J.! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
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