Iloilo Boxing Fans Agog Over Donaire Phenomenon
By Alex P. Vidal
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 21 Jul 2007
ILOILO CITY -- All of a sudden, the Nonito Donaire mania has swept every Ilonggo boxing aficionado like a phenomenon.
“He proves the theory that every Filipino boxer, if given a chance, could be a potential champion,” commented former Games and Amusement Board (GAB) Commissioner Emmanuel Palabrica whose roots are from San Enrique, Iloilo.
Palabrica said he expects Donaire to reign for a long time in the flyweight division as he has beaten the most feared champion in a shocking fashion.
“We can’t wait to watch the replay of his fight (with Vic Darchinyan),” said real estate broker Rubina Blancaflor-Pee, daughter of the late former professional boxer Florentino “Little Tunney” Blancaflor. “I heard he has a big punch and his win has mesmerized the boxing world.”
Blancaflor-Pee said he admires fighters in smaller weight divisions “because they remind me of my father.”
GMA-TV network here has started advertising the replay on Sunday at 10 o’clock in the morning of Donaire’s scintillating TKO win over the previously unbeaten Australian of Armenian descent.
“In our neighborhood, our topic is always Donaire and his fighting style. We are excited to watch the replay,” said Pee, a mother of two kids.
“He is promising. He’s got the speed, power and heart of a champ,” said sportsman Nonoy Nava who was trained as boxer when he was a kid by his late broadcaster father. “I will watch his next fights.”
“He is good and has power and excellent style,” said Frank Atas, an active Rotarian who once insisted that Pancho Villa’s “only son” had built a boxing gym in his neighborhood.
Lawyer Alex Espino, a former executive of Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) and friend of former Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) President Anwar Chowdry, said he hasn’t seen Donaire’s fight with Darchinyan but he heard that he moves very quick “and therefore has a good future as a world champ.”
Another lawyer Pet Melliza, an avid boxing fan who never missed a “live” overseas fight on cable TV every Sunday morning, described the 24-year-old Donaire as “wise, very careful and hard hitter.”
He also predicts a long reign for Donaire is speaks both English and Tagalog.
Newspaper columnist and insurance executive Peter Jimena said the country needs athletes like Donaire.
“He’s great for bringing pride to Filipino aspirants in boxing and to the country as a whole,” he said.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Alex P. Vidal.
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