DE LA HOYA'S GOLDEN BOY HOOKS UP WITH ALA GROUP!
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 17 Mar 2006
Just hours ago, in a major development for Philippine boxing, Oscar De la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions inked a historic deal with the country's biggest and most respected boxing organization, the ALA Group of sportsman Tony Aldeguer, essentially making the US-based outfit the sole promotional firm that will chart the career of Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and Z "The Dream" Gorres.
The dotted lines were signed today at a press conference held at the Cebu City Sports Club between Golden Boy vice-president Eric Gomez and Sampson Lewkowicz on one side and Tony Aldeguer and Sammy "Don King" Gello-ani on the other side.
The Historic Handshake. ALA Boxing Club Chief Architect Antonio Lopez Aldeguer (left) shakes hands with Golden Boy Promotions Vice-President Eric Gomez after signing Golden Boy's promotional contract with ALA boxers Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and Z "The Dream" Gorres at City Sports Club Cebu March 19. Photo by Dong Secuya.
A historic handshake between Aldeguer and Gomez were witnessed by both Cebu and Manila-based mediamen, with WBO Asia Pacific chairman Leon Panoncillo, Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim and California's Michael Koncz also in attendance.
Prior to the contract-signing, Oscar De la Hoya, who is currently training in Puerto Rico for his May 6 fight with Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC light middleweight title, took part in a teleconference with mediamen, where he answered queries ranging from Marco Antonio Barrera to his newly-signed Cebuano boxers.
After thanking Aldeguer and Gello-ani for the new partnership, De la Hoya also greeted the Filipino fight fans and wished Z Gorres all the luck for his fight tomorrow for the OPBF title.
"Filipino and Mexican warriors are the best in the business. One day, I would fly to the Philippines to be with you all," De la Hoya stressed. "It is an honor to work with you people from Cebu. I'm announcing a special annual World Cup in boxing, and we're happy to do the Mexico versus Philippines this time.
De la Hoya also said that as part of their immediate plan for Bautista and Gorres, the two young warriors will see action underneath the May 20 WBC super-featherweight bout between Marco Antonio Barrera and Rocky Juarez at the Staples Center.
Gomez, who pointed out that meeting Aldeguer is one of the really high points in his life, explained that signing up both Bautista and Gorres is not so much about contracts than about friendship between the two well-respected groups.
"Ala is a great visionary. I'm now in love with the Philippines and its people," Gomez added.
Aldeguer, who usually keeps a low-profile in media events, this time expressed elation with his partnership with the De la Hoya outfit, giving credit to a lot of people who made the deal come true.
"I feel like I've won an Oscar!" exclaimed the Spanish-speaking Aldeguer, while thanking the media and his family for the support.
When asked for the nitty-gritty of the contract signed by Gorres and Bautista, Gomez explained that it was confidential but assured it "was very, very good" for the boxers.
"We are here to find the next great Filipino boxing hero. We will give the boys the opportunity to be the next Manny Pacquiao," he said, while confirming De la Hoya's earlier announcement that both Gorres and Bautista will be seeing action on May 20 underneath the Barrera-Rocky Juarez showdown at the Staples Center in California.
Gello-ani, whose SGG Promotions serves as the promotional umbrella of all ALA boxers, was also ecstatic over the new tie-up, saying: "This link with Golden Boy took so many months to materialize, although in the end its worth the wait." Gello-ani also thanked Leon Panoncillo, who gave both Bautista and another ALA fighter, Czar Amonsot, their career breaks.
Click here for more presscon photos.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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