13 FOR 13: BOXING 13 WISHES FOR THE YEAR 2013
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 01 Jan 2013
For many, 13 is an unlucky number. The fear of 13 is called triskaidekaphobia. Most high-rise building floors have no 13th floor. Friday the 13th is considered as the unluckiest day of the month. The Last Supper has 13 persons, Jesus and 12 apostles. The end of the Mayan calendar?s 13th ?Baktun? was feared as ?the end of the world? last December 21, 2012.
But for this writer, 13 is a lucky number and we have listed 13 wishes for boxing in the year 2013, the Year of the Water Snake.
- Manny Pacquiao will rise and face Juan Manuel Marquez for the fifth time. The last bout was going in favor of the ?Pacman? point-wise with Marquez having difficulty in breathing due to a damaged nose. But the ?Dinamita? exploded with a devastating punch in the sixth round which resulted in the Knockout of the Year. But Pacquiao can still comeback if he concentrates on training more than anything else. He will be a ?thinking fighter? this time.
- Nonito Donaire, 2012 Fighter of the Year, will win the same award for 2013. He will face WBC superbantamweight champion Abner Mares or IBF champion Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba for unification title bouts and multi-million dollar paydays.
- Donaire will continue to use Olympic-style drug testing. That means he will be tested for performance enhancing drugs and other banned substances 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. He will show to the world that a Filipino champion is committed to be clean and fit for all the other boxers of all nations to imitate.
- Brian Viloria will face WBA lightflyweight champion Roman Gonzalez instead of fighting number one contender and mandatory WBO challenger Milan Melindo. A Filipino versus Filipino world championship is not accepted yet in our culture unlike the Mexicans and the Americans. One advantage is that if he fights a Latino in Gonzalez who is a Nicaraguan, it will be a grosser box-office wise
- Melindo will become the next world champion and will be the second ALA boxer to win a world title. But there?s a hitch though in the WBO rankings because the number two contender is another Filipino Froilan Saludar. But should Viloria vacate his title and let the top two contenders square it off for the vacant title, then for sure there will be another Pinoy WBO world champion.
- Donnie Nietes will solidify his junior flyweight title by winning over WBO mini-flyweight titleholder Moises Fuentes. The champ vs. champ fight should it materialize will be another feather in the cap of the top ALA fighter if he beats the Mexican world champion.
- A title defense by IBF junior flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero of Ormoc City here in the Philippines. He wants to fight his next championship in Cebu or Manila.
- A title shot for Denver Cuello, the WBC Silver minimumweight champion, against WBC world champion Xiong Zhao Zhong of China as promised by WBC President Jose Sulaiman.
- Sylvester Lopez, WBC Silver superflyweight champion, will have another chance to fight for the world title.
- Edrin Dapudong will finally win over South African Gideon Buthelezi after the highly controversial hometown split decision loss in Johannesburg. The IBO has ordered an immediate rematch after the notorious decision.
- Sonny Boy Jaro will be given another title shot after losing his WBC title via a split decision to Yoshiyuki Igarashi after failing to KO the Japanese in his home country. Prior to that, Jaro scored a sixth round TKO over Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, the WBC and Ring champion, whom he floored five times in one of the biggest upsets of the year.
- The Pagara brothers Jason and Albert will continue to shine with Jason given a world title shot and Albert a GAB Philippine championship.
- The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) national boxing finals which will be hosted by Maasin City, Southern Leyte in February will be successful.
Happy New Year to one and all from me, my wife Chona, and sons Mallory, Marton and Marlon!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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