All’s Quiet?
Bleacher Talk
Nov 16, 2008
All’s Quiet?
“Na mingaw man ta kalit no?” so asked a boxing fan when we bumped into each other one day. What did he mean by “mingaw” I asked, when the boxing world was already “busy” waiting in excitement for the Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar de la Hoya “Dream Match” in December. “Local boxing ba. Wa nay tay big time boxing ron,” he added.
He was right on the dot on that. After AJ Banal’s shock defeat last July, Boom Boom Bautista’s two-round KO win in August and Michael Domingo’s conquest of ex-world champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in September, local boxing events or promotions featuring Cebu’s top stars have suddenly gone quiet for the last quarter of the year. Cebu boxing was relatively busy for the first three quarters of 2008, and it looks like the fourth quarter won’t be able to sustain this momentum.
There was Robert Allanic on the comeback trail with a fight last night and a band of Wakee Salud’s upstarts fighting tonight, but they’re not part of the so-called “big boys.” The rest of the big guns are either quiet waiting/preparing for their next big fights, fighting abroad or having an early Christmas break. If you’re looking for your idols, Domingo and Boom Boom are fighting next week, but not in Cebu. They have career-setting fights in the U.S. that will establish where they’re headed for the rest of their boxing lives.
But for us ordinary boxing fans, we’re aching to see the likes of Banal, Z Gorres, Donnie Nietes, Mark Jason Melligen, Milan Melindo, Malcolm Tuñacao and Randy Suico back in action on local soil. So what’s happening on the local front? Is there a chance for a big boxing card to take place before Christmas?
One of the most important things that we must all realize is that boxers go abroad to seek both greener pastures and that big break that will launch them to international stardom and a shot at a world championship. Staying and fighting in Cebu will not give them and their promoters that much-needed break in the world boxing scene. The sad part that we also realized is that Cebu boxing still doesn’t have the critical mass of world-class boxers who can keep local boxing promoters busy and fans like us on our toes on a regular basis. The ideal scene would have Cebu’s top boxers fighting abroad, but then we’ll have enough of other big names who will keep local boxing busy all year long. All these boxers will take turns fighting abroad and on local shores, keeping the local calendar of boxing cards booked all year long.
This is where we’ll need local promoters to put up more events for the young, up and coming boxers who are still making names for themselves in the boxing scene. From this lot will come the world-caliber fighters of the future. And so we go back to the need to support the events for the boxers who don’t belong to the big boys. Moreover, there have to be many more of these events. It wasn’t too long ago when the likes of Nietes, Gorres, Banal and Boom Boom were fighting before lean crowds when they were still starting out. This is where and when we learned to appreciate their raw talent and unmaximized potential.
So let’s get this show on the road. Fighting abroad also means having to look back at where it all started: local boxing cards for the young rough diamonds.
Nov 16, 2008
All’s Quiet?
“Na mingaw man ta kalit no?” so asked a boxing fan when we bumped into each other one day. What did he mean by “mingaw” I asked, when the boxing world was already “busy” waiting in excitement for the Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar de la Hoya “Dream Match” in December. “Local boxing ba. Wa nay tay big time boxing ron,” he added.
He was right on the dot on that. After AJ Banal’s shock defeat last July, Boom Boom Bautista’s two-round KO win in August and Michael Domingo’s conquest of ex-world champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in September, local boxing events or promotions featuring Cebu’s top stars have suddenly gone quiet for the last quarter of the year. Cebu boxing was relatively busy for the first three quarters of 2008, and it looks like the fourth quarter won’t be able to sustain this momentum.
There was Robert Allanic on the comeback trail with a fight last night and a band of Wakee Salud’s upstarts fighting tonight, but they’re not part of the so-called “big boys.” The rest of the big guns are either quiet waiting/preparing for their next big fights, fighting abroad or having an early Christmas break. If you’re looking for your idols, Domingo and Boom Boom are fighting next week, but not in Cebu. They have career-setting fights in the U.S. that will establish where they’re headed for the rest of their boxing lives.
But for us ordinary boxing fans, we’re aching to see the likes of Banal, Z Gorres, Donnie Nietes, Mark Jason Melligen, Milan Melindo, Malcolm Tuñacao and Randy Suico back in action on local soil. So what’s happening on the local front? Is there a chance for a big boxing card to take place before Christmas?
One of the most important things that we must all realize is that boxers go abroad to seek both greener pastures and that big break that will launch them to international stardom and a shot at a world championship. Staying and fighting in Cebu will not give them and their promoters that much-needed break in the world boxing scene. The sad part that we also realized is that Cebu boxing still doesn’t have the critical mass of world-class boxers who can keep local boxing promoters busy and fans like us on our toes on a regular basis. The ideal scene would have Cebu’s top boxers fighting abroad, but then we’ll have enough of other big names who will keep local boxing busy all year long. All these boxers will take turns fighting abroad and on local shores, keeping the local calendar of boxing cards booked all year long.
This is where we’ll need local promoters to put up more events for the young, up and coming boxers who are still making names for themselves in the boxing scene. From this lot will come the world-caliber fighters of the future. And so we go back to the need to support the events for the boxers who don’t belong to the big boys. Moreover, there have to be many more of these events. It wasn’t too long ago when the likes of Nietes, Gorres, Banal and Boom Boom were fighting before lean crowds when they were still starting out. This is where and when we learned to appreciate their raw talent and unmaximized potential.
So let’s get this show on the road. Fighting abroad also means having to look back at where it all started: local boxing cards for the young rough diamonds.
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