MAASIN CITY 2013 BOXING YEARENDER
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 01 Jan 2014
The year 2013 will end and it is but fitting to look back at some boxing hihglights in this city which has been the host of several events - both national and regional in scope. We also looked at the fights of some boxers from Maasin who fought in the national and international scene.
The National Boxing Championships was held on February 17-23 in Maasin City. It was attended by Ed Picson, the ABAP Executive Director who was with his wife Karina Picson, an AIBA-accredited jury/international technical official (ITO). Twenty four teams sent a total of 132 boxers, including lady fighters.
The top ten teams were: 1. Davao del Norte - 7 golds, 2 silvers; 2. Bago City - 3 golds, 1 silver, 5 bronzes; 3. Misamis Oriental - 2 golds, 4 silvers, 4 bronzes; 4. General Santos - 2 golds, 2 silvers, 5 bronzes; 5. Mandaue - 2 golds, 1 bronze; 6. Maasin City - 1 gold, 3 silvers, 1 bronze; 7. Pacman Sarangani - 1 gold, 2 bronzes; 8. Camiguin - 1 gold, 1 bronze; 9. Sipalay - 1 gold; and 10. Tayabas - 2 silvers, 4 bronzes.
2012 London Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga graced the National Boxing Championships together with Jade Bornea, the World Youth Boxing Championships bronze medalist. The two world class boxers face each other on top of the ring in an exhibition. The bout was made during the finals. This is a tune up match for Bornea as he would compete in the Asian Youth Championships in Subic Bay for boxers aged 16-18 years old.
The lone gold medalist for the host Maasin City during the recently concluded National Boxing Championships was a lady boxer in the person of Ruby Nicanor. She won the gold in the junior girls' flyweight division by outpointing Liezl Mae Alde of General Santos City. She is now training at the ABAP camp in Baguio City with another Maasin boxer Edillo Abrea together with the national training pool.
Adonis Aguelo impressed thousands of hometown crowd last May 21 when he knocked Gadwin Tubigon out in the third round to capture the vacant Philippine Boxing Federation super featherweight title. The time of the stoppage was 2:27 of the third canto when Tubigon of Dipolog City was unable to continue due to the hard blows inflected on him by the Maasin boxing hero.
As early as the first round, the Barangay Matin-ao native has shown dominance of the fight but was unable to floor his visiting foe which the crowd would love to watch. In the third round, Aguelo started hitting Tubigon's body and a solid upper cut sent him down never to continue fighting that night. The boxing event was dubbed "Kadaugan sa Maasin" or "Victory in Maasin" in line with the 50th birthday celebration of the city mayor and a thanksgiving of the recent election victory.
Aguelo however lost to Cirilo Espino for the vacant Games and Amusements Board Philippine featherweight title by a unanimous decision at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology Gym in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte last January 5. Aguelo was the number one contender and Espino the number two contender of the GAB ratings.
On February 15, 2013 Aguelo won over Sho Arai in Tokyo, Japan. Aguelo inflicted the Japanese his first professional loss by a majority decision. The unbeaten Arai was heavily favored but Aguelo turned the tide during the fight before the adverse crowd.
On August 24, Aguelo fought at Bodymaker Colosseum, Osaka, Japan against Japanese undefeated boxer Ryuto Kyoguchi with a record of 10-0 (7 KOs) before the fight. The eight-round bout ended in a split draw with scores of 77-76, 76-77, and 77-77.
The development of boxing in Maasin City has earned another boost when the renowned ALA Boxing Gym offered to train boxers from Maasin in their plush boxing facilities. The boxers trained at ALA Gym are Jason Becong, Rico Evale, Regged Angco and Ruzkin Canon. Three of the boxers fought at the ALA-Summit Drinking Water Fight Night Amateur Boxing Series last January 27 at the Gaisano Country Mall Carpark. Canon won over Nilo Butayta of Phil-Australian Boxing Club, while Evale was beaten by Jun Nunez of Flores Boxing Club, and Becong was defeated by Mark Rotilles of Phil-Australian Boxing Club.
Maasin City is now included in the ALA-Summit Drinking Water Amateur Boxing Series with the initial boxing card on February 12 at the City Gymnasium or Integrated Bus and Jeepney Terminal. ALA Promotions has confidence on the sports development program of the city that is why they recommend Maasin to be included in the highly prestigious amateur boxing series. Every month there were bouts held in the barangays for the grassroots program.
?Prince? Albert Pagara of Maasin City now with the famed ALA Gym stopped Jilo Merlin in the third round of the main event of the ?ALA-Cobra Tunay na Lakas Sinulog Boxing? at the Gaisano Country Mall Carpark on January 20. In the third round, Pagara cornered Merlin and unleashed left and right hooks to the abdomen that sent Merlin crumbling in the neutral corner. He tried to get up but could not beat the count of Referee Ben Necessario, who declared the end of the bout at 1:38.
On April 6 Pagara won against Jessie Tuyor of Zamboanga Del Norte by unanimous decision in the main event of a fight card held in Dauin, Negros Oriental. Pagara simply outclassed Tuyor in the main event of the ALA-Cobra Tunay na Lakas Boxing as the three judges all scored 99-90 for the unbeaten Maasin boxer.
Albert Pagara continued his winning streak by outclassing Khunkhiri Wor Wisaruth of Thailand at the undercard of the Pinoy Pride XXI at Solaire Resort Hotel and Casino, Pasay City on July 13. Pagara shook the Thai with two right punches at the end of the first round.
A solid blow dropped the Bangkok native in the second round, but was able to get up for a mandatory eight count. A right cross to the jaw of Wisaruth following a solid left jab which sent him to the floor for the second time. He was able to rise on his feet but referee Ferdinand Estrella saw the visiting boxer getting enough beating and stopped the bout at 2:29 of round 2.
Pagara used his tremendous speed and boxing skills to beat the rough fighting Gadwin Tubigon by unanimous decision in a ten-round bout in Dumaguete City last December 7. The Prince used his stinging jabs and graceful lateral movements to score accurate blows. It convinced the judges to score 97-94, 98-92 and 98-92 . The 19 year old Pagara keeps his immaculate record at 18-0 with 12KO?s.
Elder brother Jason Pagara successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) international light welterweight title on May 25 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City. It was a convincing unanimous decision win over Aaron Herrera of Mexico. He knocked the Mexican down who touched the floor with his gloves and received an eight-count from the referee Bruce McTavish. But Herrera recovered and withstood the best punches the Filipino champion could slap on him.
The Mexican challenger had his moments of dominance in the middle rounds when the ALA standout seemed to run out of steam. But the impressive final three rounds proved to be the Filipino's selling point as he asserted his power over the visiting foe. Pagara convinced all three judges to score a unanimous decision. The scores are 115-112 by Salven Lagumbay, 116-111 by Tony Pesons, but the 119-108 score by Arnie Najera may be too much.
Pagara also successfully defended his WBO International light welterweight belt with a lopsided unanimous decision over Vladimir Baez of the Dominican Republic. It was held during the mega boxing promotion Pinoy Pride XXIII at the Araneta Coliseum on November 30. Pagara flashed tremendous power and speed as he relentless battered Baez, whom he knocked down in the ninth round with a vicious overhand to the head. Baez gamely stood his ground despite fighting with a bloodied nose, but Pagara was so dominant in cruising his way to a convincing victory. Pagara earned the nod of the three judges with the scores of 98-91,98-90 and 99-90.
During the 53rd Founding Anniversary of the Province of Southern Leyte invitational boxing tournament on June 26-28, Maasin City bagged the overall championship by winning 3 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronzes. Leyte Sports Academy was second placer with 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 1 bronze. Camiguin Tiger Boxing Stable got third place with 1 gold, and 2 bronzes. Matalom had 1 gold and 1 bronze, Baybay got 2 silvers, Bato and Tomas Oppus garnered 1 silver each, while Tacloban and Alang-Alang brought home 1 bronze apiece.
The 33rd Charter Day and fiesta of the City of Maasin, Southern Leyte was a celebration of different sports activities and the boxing bouts featuring fighters from the various stables from the region met at the City Gym. Dubbed "Encuentro sa Maasin," there were nineteen bouts that gathered a huge crowd, although it was already a day after the city fiesta. New rules on Open Boxing were implemented.
Baybay boxers got seven wins, while Maasin fighters garnered five wins. Matalom and Tacloban had three wins apiece while Bato won one bout. Tomas Oppus had none. The boxing bouts also served as the venue for the practicum of the referees, judges and technical officials who underwent the "National Open Boxing Accreditation for Referees and Judges and Refresher Course" held on August 13-16 in Maasin.
Cebu City exerted its superiority in boxing when it harvested six golds, two silvers and two bronzes at the end of the Batang Pinoy Visayas Qualifying Leg boxing tournament in Maasin City on September 24-28. Held before a huge crowd at the city bus terminal beside Metro Hi-Per Maasin, the Cebuano boxers prevailed over Mandaue City who placed second with two golds, two silvers and one bronze medal. Bacolod City was third winning two golds and two bronzes.
Host Maasin placed fourth with one gold, two silvers and three bronzes. The gold was won by Romie Evale who edged Hergie Gemeda of Cebu by split decision in the 42kg. Light pin weight category. Fifth was Tagbilaran City with one gold, one silver and one bronze. Sixth was Southern Leyte with one gold and six bronzes. Other teams who obtained medals were LSA with 3 silvers and four bronzes, Consolacion with 2 silvers and 2 bronzes, and Baybay City and Ormoc City with one bronze each.
The Batang Pinoy boxing bouts were attended by ABAP Executive Director Ed Picson Madam Karina Picson. Picson came to iron out some problems which cropped up due to the rift between ABAP and ABREJAP, the referees and judges association. But everything pushed through as he personally supervised the conduct of the boxing tournament. The officials especially those of Maasin City and Southern Leyte who attended the Batang Pinoy Visayas were not part of those who "rebelled" against the ABAP management.
Southern Leyte Boxing Association still gave our support to Picson as we believed he has the trust and confidence of ABAP Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and ABAP President Ricky Vargas. We believe that ABAP is the sole organization which is recognized by the AIBA, the International Boxing Association. It is also the national sports association duly recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.
The wrath of Yolanda caused havoc to thousands of lives and billions of properties in the Visayas region. It is the reason that Idol Boxing Series Part 2 featuring Prince Albert Pagara and Indonesian Ruben Manakane will face each other at Maasin City Gym supposedly on November 15. But ALA Boxing Promotions and the Maasin City Government decided to postpone it to still an undermined date.
On November 24, we were using a generator set to supply power to our LCD projector and Cignal equipment to televise the Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios Clash in Cotai and the news circulated like bush fire in this city without electricity since Yolanda struck. No restaurants showed the fight and at home if you can't buy pay-per-view you have to bear with the delayed TV show. So our citizens from all walks of life trooped to the free live telecast we prepared for their entertainment.
People from all the 70 barangays of the city came to the Maasin City Gym as early as 8:00 in the morning and was filled to the rafters by more than 5,000 fans. The scores were announced by Michael Buffer, 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110, a unanimous decision win by Pacman and the thousands of enthusiasts howled in approval. Some screamed for a knockout, but the convincing victory was enough to satisfy the typhoon-shocked constituents. It took almost an hour to empty the Gym of the viewing public. People were smiling when I went with the flow of the crowd towards the exit.
Host Maasin City boxers snatched most of the wins, with only one loser, in the Christmas Open/Invitational Boxing Tournament held last December 17 at the Maasin City Gym. There were twenty three bouts all in all which served as a Christmas highlight to this City who was spared from the casualties of the supertyphoon. We invited the Tacloban City team headed by national referees Nelson Factoranan and Romnick Villegas. They were able to buy some food to be brought back to their typhoon ravaged place. Other boxers came from Bato, Matalom, Bontoc, and Macrohon.
Southern Leyte Boxing Association, the prime mover of all of these, of which I am the chairman, held our simple Christmas get-together on December 28 at the City Sports Office. We look forward to a more prosperous boxing year 2014.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all PhilBoxing fans from Maloney, Chona, Mallory, Marton and Marlon!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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