Mendoza: ALA keeps fire burning in boxing
-A A +AAll Write
Monday, August 20, 2012
PHILIPPINE boxing remains in good hands just because of Tony Aldeguer.
Sorry, but Manny “Pareng Gob” Pinol is a far second.
Again, who is Tony Aldeguer?
He founded ALA Promotions, the country’s most respected boxing stable based in Cebu.
Tony has repeatedly told his friends he has retired.
But can you believe that?
I don’t. Or, I refuse to.
Maybe, he is not retired but only “tired?”
For one thing, it’s been decades now since he put up ALA Promotions, whose birth pangs
I had the privilege to witness as a young sportswriter during the dreaded, disliked, Martial Law era.
For another, when you are 50, you need to seriously consider slowing down. Yes, slow down, but not retire a.k.a. stop.
From age 50, you have the next 20 years to enjoy the fruits of your having slaved to build a life that ensures a future that doesn’t look bleak. Get the drift?
OK, for all intents and purposes, let us grant that Tony Aldeguer is retired—although, I must insist, he’s a bit “tired” only.
I know the guy. He just knows when it’s time to lift the foot from the gas pedal a.k.a. throttle.
Michael, Tony’s great son, is now on the driver’s seat and, well, I can see from where I am seated at the back of the car that the journey has remained safe, comfortable and bump-and-hump-free.
Like last Saturday.
The Philippines versus Mexico Series, now on its 15th edition, again rode hitch-less.
I wasn’t in Cebu, but I enjoyed the replay on ABS-CBN. With ice-cold beer in hand, I watched ALA’s Genesis “Azukal” Servania, Jason “El Nino” Pagara and Jimrex “The Executioner” Jaca fight—and pride oozed freely from my heart.
Dramatic was Jaca’s victory, knocking out Mexican knockout artist Angel Martinez with just one second left in the fight.
While Servania totally outclassed Jorge Pazos by an identical 118-107 scores by the three judges, I found Pagara’s sixth-round TKO win over Rosbel Montoya, his former tormentor, a stroke of genius.
Of the three, I believe Pagara appears to be our next strongest bet to win another world crown.
But if Tony disagrees, I submit.
The boss knows best.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 21, 2012.
Sports
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