KUDOS TO THE WBO
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 26 May 2010
We were very pleasantly surprised to read that World Boxing Organization president Francisco ?Paco? Valcarcel through his Asia-Pacific head Leon Panoncillo has shown the organization?s care and concern for Z ?The Dream? Gorres who is making a near-miraculous recovery from brain surgery last November.
We gather that Valcarcel was at ringside at the Mandalay Bay House of Blues in Las Vegas along with bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel to watch Gorres? showdown with rugged Colombian Luis Melendez and had promised ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer that Gorres would get a title shot against Montiel if he beat Melendez impressively.
An excited Gorres looking for a rematch with Montiel who won a hugely controversial split decision over the classy southpaw before 25,000 fans at the Cebu Sports Complex in February 2007 fought the fight of his life only to collapse in his corner after hearing the decision. Rushed to the University Medical Center, Gorres underwent emergency brain surgery and in a tragic twist was fighting for his life soon afterwards.
Thanks to the prayers of millions of his countrymen and the attention of his loving wife Datches and scores of Filipino doctors, therapists, nurses and other Filipinos living and working in Las Vegas who in a singular act of helping a fallen countryman which is a testament to the heart of the Filipino, Gorres survived the ordeal.
We learned that Panoncillo visited Gorres at his home in Mandaue City and was told by Gorres that prior to the Melendez fight his dream was to set aside a portion of his purse to buy some items to lighten up his home and in a sense, the life of his wife and four kids. He didn?t want much ? just a living and dining room set.
Gorres couldn?t believe the response from the WBO. Valcarcel and Panoncillo not only provided the Gorres family with a living room and dining room set but also with a brand new refrigerator besides what philboxing.com described as a
top-of-the-line entertainment showcase, color-coordinated living room carpet and as an icing on the cake, a brand-new 30-inch LCD television.
A teary-eyed Gorres was quoted as telling Panoncillo over the phone "Sir, thank you for the generosity. Please tell Sir Paco my big thank you."
We have taken issue with the WBO and Panoncillo on some issues which we consider serious in an effort to protect our fighters, managers and promoters from any form of exploitation in order to strengthen the integrity of the sport for which we have an undying passion.
In the face of the WBO gesture we would not wish to even hint that the generosity displayed by Valcarcel and Panoncillo was meant to diffuse adverse publicity or criticism and to score points with fight fans because that would not only be pure conjecture it would diminish the essential virtue of the gift-giving which is certainly not our intention.
Panoncillo reportedly remarked "This is just a fulfillment of a commitment. The WBO is proud to say that although we are a sanctioning body, that we are there not just for the fees from fighters and promoters, but also to be really there when our fighters need us most."
We take Panoncillo at his word because to do otherwise and to question the motives would undermine the intrinsic value of the act. It is not in our nature to do so.
Besides it would also hurt the feelings of a wonderful young man for whom we have the deepest respect and affection. We would never want Gorres to even remotely feel that he was being used and the motives of the gift-giving suspect. We have to ? and we will ? rise above our differences with the WBO and some of its officials because their actions deserve no less.
Gorres? dream of winning a world title turned into a veritable nightmare but the act of the WBO provides us hope that our dream of a world organization that will show its concern most especially for fighters and reinforces the integrity of the sport by implementing its rules in a fair and just manner, will finally happen.
All we ever ask is that the WBO lives up to its charter which states that its mission is to ?promote the development of Professional Boxing throughout the world as an educational activity that contributes to the forming of characters of athletes that are dedicated to such discipline.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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