AROY DESERVES A REMATCH
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 30 Sep 2007
Alex Aroy.
MAASIN CITY , SOUTHERN LEYTE - The people of Maasin City pinned our hopes on Alex Aroy as our first world champion. We have produced such nationally rated boxers as Romy Roa, Al Tan Lee, Bert Lozano, Jun Tan Sato, among others. But Alex, who is called Batang Maasin and the Maasin Bomber, is the first Philippine Boxing Federation and national title holder from Maasin City, being the current PBF light-flyweight champ.
All went for naught in that forgettable evening when the lights went off in South Africa and the hope of producing another WBC international champion, in the same category as that of Manny Pacquiao, were vanished.
It was caused by an abrupt and doubtful power failure at a time when Aroy appeared to be dominating over the champion. The fight was interrupted by the blackout at the start of the seventh round and the officials decided to go to the scorecards per WBC rules to determine the outcome of the fight. It was quite astonishing that a prestigious hotel and casino such as Carousel in South Africa has no standby power while hosting such a reputed WBC international title fight.
South African promoter Branco Milenkovic was so disgusted by the performance and the controversial victory of WBC International minimumweight champion Zukisani Kwayiba that he considers staging a rematch even if WBC does not order so. Rex ?Wakee? Salud proposed that the rematch will be in time for the Manila convention of the WBC this November in a fight
card to be promoted jointly by himself and MP Promotions of Pacquiao.
No matter how boxing experts look at it, they should find ways and means to stage a rematch to gauge once and for all the skills of Aroy fighting Kwayiba, minus the hullabaloo. And it should be staged in Manila where hotels and fighting venues were better equipped than the mysterious Carousel.
Because of the dream turning a nightmare, Aroy became an instant celebrity in the world of boxing. He became known not only in the country but in the international boxing scene as well.
The Barangay Maria Clara native started his amateur boxing career in the Maasin City Sports Council stable, with this writer as the Chairman, under the tutelage of the late Celestino ?Tiny? Espina. He was sent to different youth amateur and open championships where he showed lots of promise as a future boxing hero. He honed up further his skills from a clumsy fighter to a fine tuned pugilist under current city boxing trainer Ramil Entia at the City Gym. He was scouted by Wakee Salud matchmaker Willie Flores and trained hard in the RWS Gym in Cebu City where he was given big boxing breaks.
He had his pro debut in Jakarta , Indonesia in October 23, 2003 by winning on points against Indonesian Donny Suratin in eight rounds despite hostile crowd. Since then, he compiled straight wins against Roy Fuentes, Ruther del Castillo, Rogelio Bardon, Rex Madrid, Elmar Francisco, Michael Rodriguez, Allan Dugang, and over Rolando Baclayo, in his first fight in Maasin. He tasted first defeat in the hands of Rollen del Castillo. He had a technical draw with Noel Veronque at the City Gym in his first pro fight in Maasin.
Aroy failed in his bid for the WBC youth championship when he lost to Thai Oleydong Sithsamerchai in Petchaboon , Thailand in a bout hounded by controversies. Aroy was not paid his purse by the Filipino promoter in Thailand . He lost to Rollen del Castillo in a rematch. He snatched a string of victories over Rolando Toyogon and Noel Veronque in a rematch in Maasin.
He won the Philippine Boxing Federation (PBF) light-flyweight title over Dennis Juntillano before the cheering Maasin boxing fans. He thus became the first Maasinhon to win a national boxing crown. He lost a technical decision over Milan Melindo in a six-round non-title fight in the undercard of the Z Gorres-Fernando Montiel bout in the Cebu City Sports Center . His last bout was a technical draw over Arnel Tadena of Bohol last Maasin City Fiesta on August 14, 2007.
Boxing fans were disappointed of the outcome of the PBF championship fight since they expected an effortless knockout victory by the Maasin Bomber in the early rounds as the local hero handed merciless punches to the body of his foe. Aroy, who was known for stopping his opponents in the early stages of his fights, was clearly ahead on points when an accidental head butt gashed Tadena?s head, prompting referee Tony Peasons to stop the fight in the second round upon the ring physician?s advice. Hence, the PBF championship belt remained on Aroy by virtue of the draw.
PhilBoxing.com would like to give a warm welcome to its newest contributor, Mayor Maloney L. Samaco of Maasin City, the bustling capital of Southern Leyte, Philippines. Mayor Samaco is one of the thousands of Filipinos who have been bitten by the boxing bug and apparently would like to give his support and develop boxing talents in his area.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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