Did Justin Fortune bring Drian Francisco to an Insect Specialist?
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 21 Aug 2013
Francisco.
After a failed bid to win against a formidable opposition last month, Drian Francisco is back at the gym of his trainer, Justin Fortune in Los Angeles. According to a recent article in this site by Ronnie Nathanielsz, the 30 year old boxer from Mindoro is looking to bounce back from his disastrous showing against Chris Avalos who beat him via Unanimous Decision victory in Las Vegas in a possible inclusion in one of Top Rank?s cards.
Fortune downplayed his boxer?s loss against Avalos and instead blamed it on an ?asthmatic attack? that Francisco suffered during the fight. If you have been following my recent columns, I have been highly critical of Fortune and how he trains Francisco. I wrote that his deterioration halfway in his 10 round bout with Avalos is due to improper training and conditioning which was evident on how he faded early.
But Fortune is once again using the ?asthma excuse? in his failure as his trainer. And yesterday, he stated that he brought Francisco to a leading ?entomologist? who diagnosed that the boxer suffered an acute asthma attack.
He did what? He brought Francisco to an ?entomologist?? He brought his boxer to a guy who studies insects? And the ?entomologist? looked at Francisco and gladly came up with the diagnosis? Wow!
Francisco did go to an ear and nose specialist in Los Angeles, the Tuesday after his fight. And according to a trusted and reliable source, Francisco was found to not be asthmatic. And the said physician, the one that treats humans and not insects, recommended that the boxer undergo further testing
The Texas Station Casino were Francisco fought Avalos allows smoking but the location of the fight is far from the smoking patrons of the casino. I covered a fight there last year and the smoke did not bother me. And yes I don?t like the smell of tobacco fumes myself. A member of Mercito Gesta?s team who had a stint there last year also attests to the fact that the arena where they set up the ring is a ?non-smoking area.?
Fortune, despite his declaration that they are not looking for excuses for their failed bid, is once again making one. And his latest statement verifies that. Instead of elaborating on things that they have to improve in camp, the one-time conditioning coach of Manny Pacquiao is still looking at an excuse to justify their poor performance in the ring last July.
Francisco has fought on harsh locations in Mandaluyong City in Manila where smokers freely smoke during the fight and in Thailand where the heat is suffocating. In both instances, he suffered no symptoms of an ?asthma attack.? In both instances he won- via knockouts.
Fortune could have simply over-trained his boxer in this fight- plain and simple. And it is known fact, that over-training produces poor performance in competition. Maybe he and Francisco can look at that angle perhaps instead of the ?asthma excuse? ? yet again?
I wish Drian Francisco all the luck in the world. I know that he can bounce back from his previous defeat. He?s sacrificed so much by leaving his family and young children in the Philippines to find better opportunities as a boxer here in the States and I hope he becomes successful in doing so.
But he won?t be if his trainer continues to bring him to an insect specialist.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and on Twitter @Freemazon910.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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