Monday, August 27, 2007 Sayson: A mentality Boom-Boom needs to change By Homer Sayson Second Overtime
CHICAGO—We begin today’s e-mail session with a letter from Jesus Sievert of Mandaue City, who offered his thoughts on Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista:
“It’s encouraging to hear that Boom-Boom Bautista has vowed to come back. But if he wants to win a championship, he has to learn adequately to bob and weave, and somebody has to train him to be nimble in his feet and mind.”
The ability to bob and weave, to be light on his feet, and be alert are just few of the many things that Boom-Boom has learned from his trainers, Freddie Roach and Edito Villamor.
Unfortunately, the pride of Candijay, Bohol chose to neglect all those ring virtues when he fought Daniel Ponce de Leon for the WBO super bantamweight diadem.
I was around Boom-Boom a lot in the days leading to the Boxing World Cup in Sacramento. Infinitely, I heard him being told to fight De Leon from a distance, to aggressively jab, and exercise heavenly caution when engaging.
Boom-Boom, 21, nodded. But when the bell rang on that fateful Aug. 14 night at the Arco Arena, he mysteriously plowed right toward de Leon and planted his feet in front of a dangerously seasoned 27-year-old champion, who had a bazooka in both hands.
Well, nothing good ever happens when you stand in front of a bazooka. You know the rest of the story.
Boom-Boom is an extremely well-trained, well-coached fighter. But he is also one of the most stubborn and hard-headed pugs I’ve known. He either can’t or won’t follow instructions. And he wants to knock everybody out, leaving himself so open and so vulnerable.
It’s an awful mentality Boom-Boom has, one he needs to change if he wishes to become a world champion.
EX-LANCER—Saturday’s column about Amos Merado, a Cebuano now making basketball waves in the US, drew a reaction from former UV Lancer Ricardo Rita, who played alongside Paul Velasco, Marlowe Jacutin, Danny Duran, Hermes Sumalinog, and Jun Pepito in the 70s.
“Amos Mercado’s story sounded a lot like mine. When I arrived here in Sydney, Australia in 1988, basketball saved me from the loneliness. I met some Cebuano players like Dodie Ramas and Aaron Capala. We played at the Phil-Australian Sports Club and we thrived, winning titles for seven long years.”
Nice to hear that you’re doing well in Down Under, Mr. Rita. Keep dribblin’ and more power to you.
LETTER FROM MERLE. “I’m a big fan of your column, Second Overtime. I read it without fail, when it comes out. I look forward to your metaphors more than the story itself,” writes Merle Lao.
“You once said you were leaving Sun.Star Cebu because a national paper offered a bigger pay, whatever happened to that?”
For a while, going national crossed my mind. I also briefly considered an offer from another local paper. But at the end of the day, I felt this is where I belong. Although the money thrown at me was really good, I never seriously thought about leaving.
But I gotta tell you, Merle, it’s quite flattering to be desired by others.
POTPOURRI. Greetings to my good friend, Fr. Jun “Batits” Gutierrez of the Talamban Parish Church. He turned a year older two Fridays ago. He is ageless.
I spoke to Timmy Tabasa the other day. It felt like talking to a long lost friend. We share so many things in common such as Rum, fighting cocks, and a penchant for havoc. The younger brother of Ferdie at Coats, Tim is a diehard fan of Second Overtime and my NBA segment at dyAB’s ARangkada with Leo Lastimosa.
From Buboy Tapia:”You may not be a Quinito Henson but you have a unique way of writing sports that I wish people who read national papers could also see. And you have a very nice sense of humor.”
Wow, thanks.
And finally, a million thanks to Rico Laga-ac of Zuellig for his wonderful e-mail. Bulls season is almost upon us, Rico. See you here soon.
