|
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Sayson: One night with Gabi
By Homer Sayson
Second Overtime
CHICAGO – Out here in the belly of the great Midwest, we are peeling the last days of summer. It’s the time of year again when the sun gets lazy, rises late and sets so early, while the trees disgorge its leaves to usher the coming of the fall season.
But last night felt like the middle of a scorching summer. And I didn’t even go out to feel the warmth. All I did was stay in my modest apartment, pick up the phone, and dial the digits of Mike Koncz’s house in chic Orange County, California.
I then talked to boxer Disodado Gabi Jr., the WBC’s fifth-ranked flyweight. So doing was quite a pleasant surprise. The Davao-City native was warm as June, sweet like a Durian fruit, and modest as a three-bedroom bungalow.
Following the path recently blazed by the iconic Manny Pacquiao, Gabi hopes to punch his ticket in the international boxing stage when he makes his US debut tomorrow in Stockton, California against veteran Jose Alfredo Tirado.
The acid test marks the first steps to a thousand miles journey that, hopefully, wends through the promise land. A jumble of nervous excitement and fear floods Gabi’s emotions, but he declared with unmistakable certainty that he’s primed to unleash the dogs of war.
“Sukad sa akong pag-abot dinhi adtong Agosto tres, grabe og kanunay gyud akong training, sir. Andam na ko para Biyernes (Since I arrived here last Aug. 3, the training has been rough and relentless. I’m ready for Friday),” Gabi said.
Like most pugs seeking the golden rewards of boxing, Gabi hails from impoverished beginnings. His father, Diosdado Sr., is a fisherman while his mother, Teresita, stays at home to look after the family’s seven children.
Although Gabi recalls not having much growing up, he takes pride in the fact that their family always had each other. But as he traveled to earn a living in distant shores, Gabi reluctantly gave up that little yet priceless thing called togetherness.
Although he talks weekly to his parents and brothers and sisters via long-distance telephone, Gabi is still melancholic. His is a longing that hungers for a warm, tight embrace. And that yearning hurts, it hurts like hell, he says.
But when the bell sounds at the Stockton Civic Auditorium this Sept. 23, Gabi’s mind will be confined strictly inside the ropes. The 5-foot-2 import from Bucana, Lasang in Davao packs a stellar record of 25 wins and one draw with 18 KOs.
Gabi, who started boxing in 1995 at an inter-barangay tournament, also has two losses, but those debacles were somewhat hogwash in Thailand in 2002 and 2003, both distant memories and effectively purged by a 14-fight win streak.
Gabi’s foe registers a seven in the might meter. A tough Mexican hombre, Tirado flaunts a 22-3-2 slate with 17 KOs. Still, Gabi isn’t fazed. “Maayo kong pag ka andam ni Freddie Roach. Maningkamot ko taman sa ginhawa ug maayo unta og swertehon (Freddie Roach has prepared me well. I’ll shall do my best and I hope luck is on my side).”
Although Gabi now fights under a new management team, he wanted to make it implicitly clear that he is forever grateful to Gov. Manny Piñol for paving the road with which he now travels. “Ug dili pa tungod ni guv, wala unta ning tanang mga higayon nga naa nako karon (If not for Gov. Piñol, all the opportunities I now have wouldn’t have been possible).”
“Kining akong umaabot away, akong ihalad sa akong pamilya ug hilabi na gyud kang Gov. Piñol, (I dedicate this fight to my family and especially to Gov. Piñol),” said Gabi, who also added that he hopes for Gov. Piñol to someday watch his fights ringside to boost his morale.
And so from a tiny suburb inDavao, Gabi has drifted to these United States, bringing only with him an iron will and a pair of hands God bestowed with the power of a typhoon. And as he seeks to better his life and that of his family through the riches the sport can offer, here’s hoping that the winds of good fortune blow upon his way.
(homsay@hotmail.com)
(September 22, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
