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Friday, August 18, 2006
Sayson: Boom-Boom grows up
Homer Sayson
Secondovertime
CHICAGO — It was Dec. 22, 2005, pitch dark while the air was brisk and cold at the Sycuan Mountains in San Diego, where I was covering the official weigh-in of Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista’s scheduled date versus Gerardo Espinoza.
Inside his hotel room that evening, I observed Boom-Boom place a long distance call to Bohol. It being Christmas time, he was especially more melancholic. And so when his mother whispered on the other end of the line, Boom-Boom’s voice shuddered before exploding into a violent, pitiful moan.
Curled in bed and leaking tears the size of raindrops, my heart melted. I wanted to give Boom-Boom the Holy Bible, which sat harmlessly on a desk by the lampshade. I also thought of calling a priest, as if I could find one in that deserted outpost of the world.
But I couldn’t move. My body froze in sadness, and what little energy I had left, it was spent to wipe my own tears.
Separation was obviously hard for Boom-Boom. Being snatched from the familiar sights and sounds of home ate at the very core of his being. The loneliness sapped his strength, shattered his peace of mind, stifled his desire.
But that was yesterday, when he was just 19 and lonely, and unfamiliar with life in these United States. I called Boom-Boom last night in LA, where he is training for his Sept.16 fight against Giovanni Andrade (51-9, 42 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Now on his fourth trip to the US, he is dealing much better with the homesickness, manifesting a maturity beyond his 20 years.
”I feel much better now. I still miss my parents terribly, but they know I have to make a living. I send text messages regularly and I call home twice a week,” Boom-Boom told me in the vernacular.
With his emotions in check, Boom-Boom’s training is going at warp speed. Since arriving in LA last week, he has sparred 10 rounds. He rises at 6 a.m. and proceeds to jog at Griffith Park. By 8 a.m. he is back at a comfy apartment along Kenmore St., where a breakfast of three boiled eggs, a bowl of cereal and a glass of soya milk awaits.
He goes to the Wild Card gym at 10 a.m. on sparring days and 11 a.m. on non-sparring days.Training ends at around 1 p.m. and yesterday’s lunch was tinolang isda with orange juice and milk, while dinner was chicken soup with lots of cabbage plus some salad.
With bedtime set at 9 p.m., Boom-Boom, with super trainer Edito “Ala” Villamor behind the wheels of a Chrysler van, burns his free time at Vermont St. He and Edito love to hang out at 3C Wireless, a telecommunications store owned by an affable Pinoy couple, Ronald and Charm Sanchez.
”Boom-Boom has really matured a lot since we first came to the US. He has adapted to the travel and the boxer’s lifestyle, and training camp is going well. He weighs 130 pounds now, but there shouldn’t be a problem making 122 or 123 pounds for the fight,” Villamor said.
Looking for a drive to succeed was never a problem for Boom-Boom. His impoverished beginnings took care of that. But having just re-connected with his high school sweetheart, Boom-Boom is especially inspired these days. The very thought of dear Margie makes him go theextra mile, work a little harder, punch a little stronger.
What a difference a few months make. Just last December, Boom-Boom was a lonely young man, confused of his life’s mission, unsure of his place in this world.
Today he is a grown man, extremely happy with both his family and personal life, and his eyes are fixed steadily on a world title. Sept. 16 is a long way yet, and I can’t tell you what happens between now and then.
But I can promise you two things about Boom-Boom. There will be no more tears of sadness. No more tears of loneliness.
homsay@hotmail.com
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 18, 2006 issue)
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