Q and A WITH BRUNO ESCALANTE
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 20 Apr 2014
Escalante.
Bruno Escalante retained his IBA super flyweight title last April 5 by unanimous decision over Victor Ruiz. Escalante showed grit when he fought with an injured left hand and post-fight x-rays revealed two fractures. He spoke to philboxing in a phone interview and talked the fight game, his Filipino roots, and his dream of fighting Zou Shiming in a rematch.
PHILBOXING: We were surprised that you still speak fluent Cebuano...growing up in Hawaii, did you have a lot of friends who spoke Cebuano?
ESCALANTE: Yes, my parents spoke to me in Cebuano and I had a lot of friends in Hawaii who also speak the language. Here in California, I've only met a few who speak Cebuano.
PHILBOXING: Are you open to fighting in Cebu or anywhere in the Philippines?
ESCALANTE: Yes, that would be great. The last time I visited the Philippines was in 2009.
PHILBOXING: How's your hand?
ESCALANTE: I just had surgery last Monday. It will take three months for full recovery. But I don't think it will be a problem later on in my career.
My left hand was broken in the second. I did not notice any severe pain until the eighth round when I threw it really hard when I tried to go for a knockout.
PHILBOXING: How did you get your start in boxing?
ESCALANTE: My mother did not want me to be a boxer. She would not even sign my consent form when I wanted to join my first amateur tournament. But my father wanted me to be a boxer. He told my mother that you don't know yet how far he'll go as a boxer.
When I wanted to turn pro, I got an invitation from Nonito Donaire. He offered to help so I moved from Hawaii to the Bay Area. I trained with him, he was preparing for a Pinoy Power fight card in 2010. I also met trainer Jonathan Penalosa who was in his camp. But Donaire's career really took off, so trainers Brian Schwartz and Michael Bazzel came in and took over.
PHILBOXING: Who influenced your fighting style?
ESCALANTE: Manny Pacquiao is the guy who I pattern my offense, on defense it's Pernell Whitaker.
PHILBOXING: Talk about your only loss as a pro, the fight against Matthew Villanueva, you had a good start but you faded and lost a unanimous decision.
ESCALANTE: That was the first time I fought eight rounds. I did not have a good transition, I was a four rounder and never fought as a six round fighter before that fight. I learned from that loss, now I know what to do if we get to fight each other again.
PHILBOXING: Is there anyone who you really want to fight?
ESCALANTE: Zou Shiming. I lost to him when we were amateurs. It was a U.S.A. vs China match. It was held in his country. But the pro game is different.
PHILBOXING: We think that they will give Zou a world title shot this year. Your rematch could happen at the world championship stage.
ESCALANTE: That would be great, Philippines vs China match-up.
PHILBOXING: Is there anyone else you want to fight?
ESCALANTE: Whoever my promoter has lined up for me, I will be ready.
PHILBOXING: So what are you doing now in your spare time?
ESCALANTE: I help to train amateur boxers.
PHILBOXING: Did you see the Pacquiao-Bradley fight?
ESCALANTE: Yes, I was worried at first. I actually had Bradley slightly ahead after five rounds, but from the sixth round onwards, it was all Manny, except for the 11th. It was a very impressive performance.
Escalante with his team.
* * *
We thanked Escalante for his time and wished him luck.
The 25 year old Escalante got the moniker "The Aloha Kid" to honor the state of Hawaii where he immigrated when he was eight years old. He came up short in his bid to be part of the U.S boxing team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was in Beijing where Zou won his first Olympic gold and he would repeat in London 2012. It would be very interesting if they crossed paths again as pros even though Zou is campaigning one division lower than Escalante.
Escalante (13W (KO 6) - 1L -1D) captured the vacant IBA super flyweight title by majority decision over Michael Ruiz last year. He has two title defenses against Lorenzo Trejo (KO4) and the decision win over Victor Ruiz.
Escalante, a southpaw, is currently managed by Herb Stone and was chosen as the 2013 Northern California Boxer of the Year. He traces his roots to Sibonga, Cebu and slowly by surely, news of his accomplishments reached the island of his birth. Last month, he was awarded a citation during the 32nd SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards.
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