MORE THAN A CHAMPION: “The Dream is Home”
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 16 Feb 2010
Z 'The Dream' Gorres (L) with wife Datches and son during this afternoon's presscon at Patio Isabel in Cebu City. Photo by Dong Secuya.
They came by jeepneys, motorbikes, cars and even trucks.
Z “The Dream” Gorres was greeted by hundreds of well wishers at the Mactan Cebu International Airport when he arrived home Tuesday morning. Gorres and his wife Datches were pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of love and support by relatives, neighbors and friends.
Gorres was greeted by the city and baranggay officials from Mandaue City who organized a brief tribute in his home baranggay.
“I never expected this,” ALA Promotions Vice President Dennis Canete said, “There were so many people who came to the airport to greet Z. It was incredible.”
Gorres, together with Datches and their four children met members of the Cebu media and Cebu City officials in a press conference held at the Patio Isabel in Talamban, Cebu City. They were greeted by his ALA Gym stablemates and Cebu sportswriters and friends.
Also accompanying Gorres in his homecoming trip is Dr. Benito Calderon, one of his benefactors. Dr. Calderon is the current president of the Philippine Medical Association in Las Vegas. He and his colleagues have been assisting Gorres in raising funds for his medical bills which have exceeded 500,000 dollars.
Dr. Calderon describes Gorres' as a “miracle kid.”
“Mentally, he is back.” Dr. Calderon said. “His motor skills have improved. There is still weakness on his left side. But we'll see more improvement within the next six months.”
Gorres thanked his fellow Filipinos for their support. “I would like to thank my neighbors, the people of Mandaue, the Aldeguer family, Mayor Jonas Cortez and the baranggay captains of Mandaue, councilor Jack Jakosalem and all those who gave their help.”
Datches also thanked those who supported them and was surprised by the welcome.
He was riding a wheelchair but Gorres is coherent and spontaneous in answering questions from the media. But still speaks in a slow voice and he has a tracheostomy scar on his neck. He has been able to ambulate with a walker when he was in rehab in the U.S.
“I can stand and walk with assistance.” he said. “I want to be a boxing trainer once I fully recover. I know I can share my knowledge with other aspiring boxers.”
When asked if he would allow his kids to be boxers, Gorres said, “Yes. It's up to them, if they want to.”
Datches however totally disagrees. It was very traumatic for her watching her husband recover from emergency neurosurgery after his fight with Luis Melendez in Las Vegas.
In a related development there is an article posted on the website of the Lahontan Valley News which states that a team of University of Nevada Las Vegas law students are working on a legislative proposal that would ensure boxers have catastrophic health insurance before they enter the ring.
Boyd Law School student Jayme Martinez said if boxers had adequate insurance, neither they nor taxpayers would have to worry about medical bills. Martinez and other students met Z Gorres together with Law professor Robert Correales, who believes that promoters make enough money off fighters to provide more insurance.
Dr. Calderon believes that the law could be passed in 2011. Cebu City councilor Jack Jakosalem also plans to have a similar bill here in Cebu considering that this is the boxing capital of the country and where Gorres had his best fights.
Gorres will be honored by the Cebu Sportswriters Association this March 11 with a Presidential Award. He may have come up short in his world title bid against Fernando Montiel three years ago but his dream lives on among his stablemates in the ALA Gym.
It was ALA Promotions Patriarch Antonio Aldeguer who said it best when he spoke to the sportswriters after the presscon. “Z Gorres is more than a champion. He has touched more lives and has received more love and support than most world champions. He is disappointed that he never won a world title, but what he did, what is happening now...That means more than being a champion.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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