INSIDE SPORTS: CEBU MEDIA, ALA PROMOTIONS, ABS-CBN MAKE BOXING TRULY SPECIAL
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 21 Jun 2014
Fight fans in Cebu and Bohol which includes a number of foreigners are obviously pleased that once again big-time boxing returns to the Waterfront Hotel and Casino after several months with the cream of the ALA Promotions fighters seeing action at the Mall of Asia Arena and the famed Araneta Coliseum.
One thing for sure, fight fans in Cebu are ready and willing to pay a reasonable price for an entertaining evening of boxing which, regrettably, is unlike Metro Manila where most of the time fight cards are staged in different municipalities under the auspices of Mayors and Governors with fans given free access on a first come, first served basis.
This isn?t intrinsically bad because it helps sustain interest in boxing although the low budget fight cards tend to affect the quality of the fights as well as the television coverage, if there is indeed any coverage at all.
Besides, the print media doesn?t follow these fight cards with any great enthusiasm and often depend on press releases promoting the cards or announcing the results.
Of course there are exceptions where reporters who love boxing and look form first hand accounts in order to give readers or television viewers and radio listeners a better appreciation of what really happened.
In this regard one cannot help but admire the manner in which ALA Promotions of one of the great boxing patrons of our time ? Tony Aldeguer ? and his youthful son and successor in the sport ? Michael Aldeguer, continue to take the sport and its overall presentation to greater heights in partnership with the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN whose massive nationwide presence while key, is not what sets it apart.
It?s the sense of commitment to quality production and the maximization of the network?s various promotional platforms, borne out of a meaningful desire to showcase a sport in which Filipinos can take on the best in the world and beat them, that drives the network and the men and women responsible for such tremendously successful ventures as ?Pinoy Pride,? a creative concept of ?The Voice,? our good friend Peter Musngi and whose nationwide ratings are simply remarkable on a consistent basis.
For years we ourselves have had a gratifying experience working with ALA Promotions when we used to telecast fight cards in Cebu featuring such fine boxers as Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes, Z ?The Dream? Gorres, AJ ?Bazooka? Banal, Milan Melindo, Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista, Rocky Fuentes and many others whom we saw progress from adventurous young men into world and regional champions and challengers.
While ALA Promotions has moved on and tied-up with our friends from ABS-CBN, we personally have no regrets because we still remain passionate followers of boxing and continue to have an opportunity to cover the fights and in our own small way on Viva Sports and Pinoy Box Office ? PBO ? which has been given a huge boost by being carried on SkyCable, support our fighters through the weekly Main Event program on primetime on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. with a replay on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.
We are able to pay close attention to promising fighters during training, help out by providing DVDs of their opponents fights and seeing them review these with their trainers so as to hammer out a solid game-plan for fight night.
Somehow it provides a great deal of satisfaction watching and encouraging young fighters as they train, talking to them and their trainers and helping the public get a glimpse of these young men most of whom come from poor families.
What ALA Promotions has done for scores of young men is a testament to the goodness and sense of caring of Filipinos like Tony Aldeguer and his son Michael and indeed the entire family who are always at the fights providing the support that ennobles the family ties and provides a new dimension to a wonderful sport.
In Cebu, the print media is special. The young men who tell the stories of the fighters and the fights through regular full-page stories and pictures that mirror their love for boxing and their respect for the men who fight the good fight have earned both our respect and admiration.
As the esteemed founding Commissioner of the PBA, the late Leo Prieto and his beloved prot?g? and eminently successful Legal Counsel and later Commissioner, the late Rudy Salud said when the pro league was launched ? without the support of the media, we will be nothing.
In Cebu, the media have made boxing, something very special.
Photo: Cebu media's Dong Secuya, Rene Bonsubre Jr and Rico Navarro give an award to Donnie Nietes during the last Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) awards.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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