SHAW EXHORTS CEBU MEDIA TO GET THE 'ALA' STORY OUT
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 26 Jan 2008
CEBU CITY -- Promoter Gary Shaw, who has been adjudged as one of the most powerful men in boxing today by Yahoo Sports, has asked the Cebu media in an impassioned plea to get the 'Antonio L. Aldeguer story' out in the open.
"You will not be doing your duty if you wouldn't do this," Shaw told a small band of Cebu boxing scribes who had dinner with him last night at the 'Taste of Mandarin' restaurant in Banilad. Shaw is currently in Cebu to lend support to his ward former world champion Vic Darchinyan who will be fighting a crucial match with local boy Z Gorres next Saturday, Feb. 2.
Antonio L. Aldeguer, popularly known as 'ALA', the chief architect of the famous ALA Gym and the godfather of Cebu boxing, has been involved in amateur and professional boxing for more than three decades as a trainer, benefactor and philanthropist and along the way supported and nortured hundreds of local boxers in their attempt to make a name for themselves in the highly-demanding and brutal sport.
Normally, a prospective boxer, who had most likely heard about ALA from someone else, comes to the ALA gym to try out. The gym personnel have a standing order to not refuse anyone and this policy has attracted a continuous stream of prospective boxers coming to the gym. Once a boxer is accepted to the gym, he gets free food and lodging and some get to work in one of Aldeguer's many companies. It is also known that ALA doesn't get cuts from his boxer's purses nor keep signed contracts with them. "They're free to leave anytime from my gym if they want to," ALA would often say.
But for all his involvement and sacrifice, ALA prefers to work in the background and let his fighters enjoy all the attention and the limelight. In fact, there is an unwritten rule during press conferences with the ALA group that cameras should automatically stop working once they're aimed at the man himself.
Gary Shaw, who was coming in to Cebu as the promoter of an ALA boxer's opponent and therefore can be theorictically considered an antagonist to the ALA Gym's welfare, came to met Aldeguer personally who is hosting him in Cebu, visited the ALA gym, observed the ALA boxers in training and personally was able to talk to the boxers and trainers in the gym. Shaw, it seemed, was completely disarmed by Aldeguer and was blown out by what he saw.
"I had been involved in boxing for a long time and I never saw anything like this," Shaw enthused. "I have heard good things about Tony (Aldeguer) but seeing things personally completely blows me out. Now everytime I'll be in conferences I'll now talk about ALA," Shaw, famous for talking about prostrate cancer in his presscon introductions because he was a cured patient, said.
"ALA is good for boxing, and his story should be broadcast widely. Somewhere out there, people who do not know boxing or people who know boxing as a bad sport, they'll probably completely change their perception about boxing and would be inspired when they hear about the ALA story," Shaw concluded.
Top photo: Promoter Gary Shaw (seated) greets Antonio L. Aleguer at a Cebu restaurant.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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