Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Saddled with Visa woes, RP champ gives up $40T title fight against Marquez By Rommel C. Manlosa Sun.Star Staff Reporter
FOR “love of the country,” Philippine superfeatherweight champion Jimrex Jaca decided to cancel his Oct. 21 fight against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBO Interim Featherweight title at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
“For the love of the country, I have decided not to go on with this fight because if I could get the visa tomorrow (today). It would leave me two days before the fight to arrive in the US. And for sure I would bring a great deal of shame to all Filipino because I’m no longer in top condition to face Marquez,” Jaca, in Cebuano, told Sun.Star Cebu in a long distance interview last night.
Yesterday, Jaca failed to get his P1 visa, which was applied directly by the promoter of Golden Boy Promotions in the US. His trainer Robert Bubuli was able to secure a B1 visa, which was processed at the Manila Embassy, yesterday.
Cebuano promoter Sammy Gello-ani was quick to explain the processing of Jaca’s visas.
Urgent interview
“His P1 visa was applied for in California by Golden Boy. Jimrex was given a violet claim card for him to get his visa (at the Embassy). It was applied for last Oct. 4, and when they (Team Jaca) got the notice, they should have scheduled for an urgent interview,” Gello-ani told Sun.Star Cebu.
Gello-ani is now unofficially part of the GBP family, after Oscar De La Hoya’s boxing outfit signed up ALA Boys Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and Z “The Dream” Gorres.
According to Jaca, the Manila Embassy could not locate his name on the online list, and this totally broke his spirit down.
“When they opened the computer, they could not find my name that’s why I gave up hope. I got discouraged. I have to cancel the fight and hope that one day, that chance would come along my way again. Sir Wakee (Salud) told me that it’s all up to me to decide now with this predicament,” added Jaca.
One last try
But Gello-ani, who also called Team Jaca last night, advised them to give it one more day to try because, HBO might not give him another chance to fight in a PPV fight.
According to his wife Len-Len, Jaca was to receive $40,000 for this fight, the biggest purse so far that the Sibulan, Oriental Negros would receive in his six-year career.
But to Jimrex, his pride and the pride of the country is even more important than the color of the money.
