DAPUDONG, OTHER UP AND COMERS, NEED OUR SUPPORT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 24 Jun 2010
The remarkable talent in boxing that our country possesses especially down south in the Visayas and Mindanao was proven once again when Edren Dapudong scored a stunning 1st round knockout over highly fancied, power punching Mexican Jesus Jimenez who had a record of 20 knockouts in 28 wins with 5 losses in addition to enjoying a height and reach advantage over the 5?4? Filipino.
The spectacular performance of the prot?g? of former Cotabato governor and journalist Manny Pinol who, in fairness to him, always takes pride in his fighters like any decent manager should, effectively saved the day for Philippine boxing as three of our boxers who fought on the same day in separate continents lost in somewhat embarrassing fashion.
WBC light flyweight champion Rodel Mayol appeared to use his head once too often in a grudge rematch with former champion Omar Nino and paid the price losing three precious points on head-butts that opened up nasty cuts on both eyes of the Mexican challenger and lost the title he won in somewhat controversial fashion from Edgar Sosa via a 2nd round TKO after a head-butt decked Sosa who was later found to have suffered a fracture of his left cheekbone.
The newly adopted WBC rules which appear to be fair were applied. Simply put, if a fighter is cut because of a head-butt then his opponent loses a point. If in the judgment of the referee, the head-butt was deemed intentional, then the guilty fighter loses two points.
If, on the other hand there is a head-butt but no cut is caused, then no point is deducted. This was the case when Omar Nino connected with a head-butt but there was no cut and Michael Koncz who was seated behind WBC secretary general Mauricio Sulaiman argued the point to no avail. Sulaiman who extended Koncz the privilege of watching the replays on his TV monitor, pointed to Mayol?s infractions and the adviser of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao told us he couldn?t take issue because Mayol was indeed guilty of the head-butts. Regrettably we must concede that Mayol has this tendency.
Over in South Africa, veteran southpaw Juanito Rubillar was also warned repeatedly for low blows and also a head-butt in his rematch against IBO light flyweight champion Hekkie Budler and was even threatened with disqualification by the referee. Although the scorecard of the British judge (116-111) was a joke and in no way reflected the closeness of the bout which the South African won by a split decision by taking the last three rounds, it appeared that Rubillar, just like Mayol, faded in the championship rounds and this cost him the title.
Two other Filipinos who also lost were super flyweight Richard Garcia who got mauled by Juan Jose Montes in a WBC Youth world title bout and Ronnelle Ferreras who lost by a unanimous decision to Gideon Buthelezi in an IBO minimum weight title fight which respected boxing writer Ron Jackson reported had no business being called a title fight as Buthelezi ran and Ferreras chased him all night and threw wild punches none of which really connected.
Dapudong was, in contrast, a most welcome revelation. He was not awed by the reputation of Jimenez or the fact that he was in his opponent?s hometown. He stormed off his stool as the bell rang, didn?t give Jimenez a chance to use his height and reach to advantage and destroyed the Mexican whose nickname was ironically ?Destroyer.?
Dapudong waited for the right moment before he unleashed a devastating left that broke the jaw of Jimenez and sent him crashing to the canvas before ripping into him to send the Mexican down for a second time. Only this time, he couldn?t get up.
We cannot but wonder and indeed hope, that the men who have the money and the companies that spend millions on basketball look at the value of channeling some of these funds into boxing where poor young men have broken away from what may seem the drawbacks of their poverty but have proven through the years that we could be a dominating force in boxing if given half a chance.
Winning not only binds a nation together as Manny Pacquiao has demonstrated in no uncertain fashion time and time again but it also encourages our people to realize that poverty is not a hindrance but rather a challenge.
Providing constant and wider exposure to our young fighters by supporting the efforts of promoters with integrity and a genuine love for the sport and helping stage some good, regional and world championship fights in the Philippines would surely bring in the TV ratings and help promote sponsoring brands in the marketplace while at the same time showing the world that we are indeed a nation of resolute young men capable of not just being the best, but even better than the best. Edren Dapudong is another fine example of what we mean.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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