ABAP AMATEUR BOXING VISAYAS ELIMS TO BE HELD IN BAGO CITY
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 23 Sep 2012
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) Executive Director Ed Picson informed this writer that the Visayas elimination round will be held in Bago City, Negros Occidental. Picson disclosed that City Mayor Ramon Torres of Bago would like to host only the Visayas leg of the prestigious national tournament.
Picson was in Maasin City, Southern Leyte, the prospective host of the ABAP national championship. He was accompanied by international referee-judge Jesus San Esteban, Jr., recently appointed by AIBA as an official to the coming World Youth Championships in Armenia. The confirmation of Bago City as Visayas leg host and the final schedule will be done during the ABAP Congress in October.
Bago City was known as the ?Boxing Capital of the Philippines? because it has produced great names in boxing, the likes of Leopoldo Cantancio, Reynaldo Galido, Roel Velasco, Mansueto ?Onyok? Velasco, Jr. and many others. There are still several boxers from the city who are undergoing training with the ABAP national pool in Manila and Baguio.
Last year during the Visayas elimination in Dumaguete City, Bago City emerged as champions and dethroned Mandaue City. Bago won three gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal. Seventeen-year-old James Palicte led the Bago gold assault. He was a national champion in the 2008 and 2009 national tournament held in Palawan and Cagayan de Oro City, respectively.
Palicte dominated the youth boys? lightweight division. He was once a member of the training pool but ceased the training because he was homesick. Raymart Flores won the youth pinweight division and Andrian Dela Cruz topped the junior light flyweight title
A Bago City boxer recently won the gold in the Taipei City International Boxing Championship. Rogen Ladon outboxed Japanese Kenshiro Teraji, 19-10 in the finals. He won even if he was given a 2-point penalty for ducking in the 3rd round. Ladon was Mark Anthony Barriga's main sparring partner in the preparation for the London Olympics.
I also visited ALA Gym in Cebu City last Friday and met Antonio L. Aldeguer, the owner of the best boxing facility in the whole Philippines. He said he will be sending boxers to Bago City. His amateur boxers will represent Cebu, Mandaue and Tagbilaran cities. I told him our boxers will no longer undergo the Visayas elimination being hosts of the national tourney.
The amateur boxers trained rigidly as their professional counterparts at the ALA Gym. The world-class facility housed more than forty boxers, both pros and amateurs. I went there to visit our own Pagara Brothers, Jason and Albert.
Aldeguer offered me to send Maasin City amateur boxers for training in preparation for our national tournament hosting. They will be trained for one and a half months including conditioning. Their classes will be temporarily transferred to Talamban Elementary and National High School upon the approval of the Department of Education. I gladly accepted the golden offer of ALA.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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