HUGE WELCOME AWAITS CONDES
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 09 Jul 2007
A huge welcome befitting a legitimate world champion awaits newly crowned IBF minimum weight king Florante Condes who won the title in a classic battle against Indonesia’s Muhammad Rachman who eventually succumbed to the power of the hard-hitting Filipino southpaw and lost his title by a questionable split decision in Jakarta late Saturday night.
Despite Condes scoring two knockdowns, one in the third and the other in the tenth which are normally scored as 10-8 rounds hometown judge Muhammad Rois had Rachman the winner 117-113 to which surprised the Indonesian crowd, Filipino judge and journalist Salven Lagumbay and Thai judge Montol Suriyachand who turned in identical 114-112 cards for Condes.
Mayor “Boyet” Ynares of Binangonan which is the hometown of Condes and his Filipino manager Aljoe Jaro will lead well-wishers at the airport along with Games and Amusements Board chairman Eric Buhain and well-known boxing people Rod Nazario, TV analyst Moy Lainez and Gerry Garcia who produce the weekly boxing show “In This Corner” where Condes made a name for himself. A big motorcade is also being planned in Condes’ hometown.
Chairman Buhain is expected to arrange for a courtesy call on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who earlier commended Condes and newly crowned IBF flyweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire who won the world title with a smashing fifth round knockout over cocky and abrasive Vic Darchinyan. President Arroyo said the boxing champions "herald the fighting spirit of the Filipino athlete." Noting that the two fighters had been described by media as the underdogs, the president they provede they belong to "the league of champions."
Deanne Whitfield of the Jakarta Post said Condes, nicknamed “The Little Pacquiao” because of his similar southpaw stance and devastating punching power, “came out with fast lefts and strong hooks, keeping orthodox Rahman on the back foot for the first five rounds.” Rahman got a second wind in the ninth and “dominated the round much to the delight of the wildly cheering crowd.”
But Whitfield said Condes “proved to be too strong with a quick right yielding a cut over Rachman’s right eye and a knockdown in the tenth earning him an eight-count.”
Rachman reportedly isolated himself in Blitar, East Java to prepare for Condes but Whitfield said there had been “ speculation over whether he was getting the kind of quality sparring he needed for a fight of this magnitude.”
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