JETLAG SHOULD NEVER BE AN EXCUSE!
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 18 Jul 2012
Fernando Lumacad recently challenged Hernan ?Tyson? Marquez at the latter?s home turf in Mexico. He ended on the short end of the stick.
Mexico, as we all know because of its geographic location has different time zones. None of them matches the sole Philippines time zone.
Therefore, any traveler from Mexico to the Philippines and vice verse will suffer from the perils of jetlag in one form or another.
Jetlag is a physiological condition and it alters the body?s rhythms as a result of rapid long distance travel on a jet plane. It occurs more in east-west travels than north-south ones.
Jetlag affects people in different ways. Recovery also varies from people to people even though they all travel on the same plane. Some are not affected while others may take several days to recover.
Among the symptoms of jet lag are headaches, fatigue, irregular sleep pattern, disorientation, constipation and diarrhea.
Marquez beat Lumacad via a split decision. Many reasons where given as to why the Filipino challenger did not succeed in getting a win.
Peter Maniatis, the Australian co-handler of Lumacad cited jet lag as one of the reasons why Lumacad lost. ?He only had 3-4 hours sleep a day,? he said.
What?
Maniatis is a seasoned handler. He travels all over to get his business done. I am positive that he is aware of jetlag. And so is Jim Mannangquil, the other Lumacad co-handler.
Why then did they not set a schedule that would have allowed Lumacad to address the perils of jetlag?
From what I hear Team Lumacad arrive in Mexico just a couple or three days before the fight.
Why did they not come to Mexico at least two weeks before to allow Lumacad to acclimatize to the Mexican time zone and weather?
Are the handlers saving money at the expense of losing a fight that has a huge implication to Philippine boxing and the honor winning Filipino athletes bring to the country?
I hope not!
Handlers should refrain from using ?jetlag? as an excuse for losing.
Doing so just exposes their short comings.
Perhaps they should concentrate in getting corporate support instead of making excuses for a defeat so that they can bring the fights to the country thus giving their fighters a little bit of an advantage.
Further, they should provide enough support for their fighters so that their training, conditioning and nutrition can be properly supervised.
With that these fighters will have a better chance to win.
A very good example is the ALA Group in Cebu.
ALA fully support their fighters. They put up the money to bring challengers to the Philippines instead of sending their wards to the lion?s den abroad. They also provide proper training and nutrition plus housing to boot.
On top of that they seek and secure corporate support for their fighters.
It?s no small wonder Donnie Nietes for example is a world champion and he enjoys the luxury of defending his crown in his home turf.
Other handlers should follow suit. They should stop making excuses and instead look for ways to put their fighters in a position of advantage.
The author (L) poses with Lumacad.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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