WAS FARENAS? DEFEAT DUE TO POOR MANAGEMENT?
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 10 May 2010
Michael Frenas flew to Agua Calientes, Mexico allegedly by himself.
Well at least that was what he told his writer when reached by phone at his hotel in Mexico. He went to fulfill his obligations to fight Nicaragua?s Marlon ?Rocky? Aguilar on the Margarito-Garcia fight card.
?Hindi sila nakakuha nang visa kaya ako lang mag-isa,? he told this writer (They did not get their visa, so I am alone).
With that, it was no surprise that Ferenas lost in what respected Filipino writer Ronnie Nathanielsz described as a ?disappointing fight?.
Farenas spoke about being told about the fight only a couple of weeks before it was scheduled. That alone could be a huge factor on why he lost.
Sending our fighters by themselves some 10,000 miles away from home without any familiar a companion from the homeland is disappointing and should not happen. It is irresponsible and uncalled-for.
Yes Farenas has fought abroad before and should not be bothered fighting in a strange place. But that should not be an excuse to send him by himself.
Could you imagine Manny Pacquiao alone in Vegas for a fight?
Yes Farenas is no Pacquiao and he is not even a world champion.
But that is not an excuse to send him by himself to fight abroad. Doing so is purely inexcusable. It is poor management. Very poor, I should say.
His loss therefore is on the hands of his management people and it should never happen again.
Yes, Farenas had Eric Brown of the Wildcard Gym at his corner. He even had Miguel Lopez as his cutman. And both are good people.
Although Farenas understands the English language very well, there is no substitute for hearing instructions from someone who speaks the dialect.
Instructions coming from a corner man in a language more familiar with fighters without doubt sinks in better that another language. It is soothing as well particularly in the heat of a battle.
That is not being racist or anything like. And, its not an insult to the fighters who speak and understand the English language nor is it a put down of trainers who don?t speak our dialects.
It?s just the fact of life. Just ask our numerous Visayan fighters who had foreign fight experiences.
Why do you think Buboy Fernandez talks to Manny Pacquiao in Tagalog and or Visayan between rounds. I am sure it?s not only to interpret what Freddie Roach is saying.
It?s just that a familiar voice is always reassuring anytime, anywhere.
Now is it a wonder why towards the end of the fight ?Farenas didn?t seem to have the energy or the inclination to even try to get it done,? as Nathanielsz indicated?
Farenas was morally and psychologically defeated even before the fight begun. He had the talents and the skills to beat his foe. But, something was missing that night.
I am sure given a different scenario, Farenas would have prevailed easily.
I sure hope in the future, boxing managers would do better than what Farenas? handlers did.
There is more to it than finding fights for our boxers and making money on the side.
These fighters are people too and no matter how good they are or how much experiences they have fighting abroad, they need all the basic support to succeed in a fight. Having familiar faces in their corners who can communicate things a lot better to them is one of such need.
What happened to Farenas should be a lesson learned.
Never send our fighters abroad alone just so they can have a fight and have the opportunity to make some money. There is more to it than that.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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