Wednesday, October 24, 2007 Boom-Boom cracks joke on ‘glass jaw’ By Mike T. Limpag Of Sun.Star Cebu
HE’S got the heart, the skills, and the spirit of a warrior, but during the press conference for his comeback fight, Rey Bautista showed that aside from the ability to break bones, he can tickle your funny bone as well.
In a meeting with local scribes for his “Payback” fight in Manila on Dec. 2, Bautista was asked to react on critics who said that the Boholano fighter has a “glass chin”—sports parlance for a weak jaw susceptible to KOs.
In response, Bautista said, “Maskin kinsa man siguro maigo sa jaw matumba.” (Whoever is hit on the jaw falls.)
Punchline
He could have stopped there, but what followed next could be a classic quote, something for Sports Illustrated’s weekly quotes.
“Karon kabalo na ko nga kung maigo ko, matumba ko.” (Now I know that if I’m hit, I’ll fall).
Bautista said it so nonchalantly that there was a delayed reaction before those present broke into laughter.
The “glass chin” critique surfaced after Bautista, then undefeated in 23 fights with 17 knockouts, got on the wrong end of a one-punch KO from brawler Daniel Ponce de Leon in the main event of the Boxing World Cup.
Only Bautista, the team captain, lost among six Pinoy fighters.
After that loss, threads and posts regarding Bautista’s glass chin and the caliber of his previous opponents surfaced at the forums of Mannypacquiao.ph, a Filipino boxing site operated by Dong Secuya, who was also present in the press conference.
Bautista’s handler Antonio L. Aldeguer said that the stigma of the loss left Bautista so withdrawn that he was too embarrassed to face his teammates and even his townmates when he returned to Candijay in a caravan.
“He didn’t want to ride at the back of the pickup,” Aldeguer said.
Critics
It was only AJ Banal and Edito Villamor who were seen by the Boholanos, he said.
“They were asking for Boom-Boom, so I told them to open the window and after that, Boom-Boom asked to stop the car so he could ride at the back,” Aldeguer said.
One man on a motorcycle came near the pickup and told Boom-Boom, “One round ra ka, bay?” To this, Aldeguer said he told Bautista not to listen to to his critics too much.
“They are the ones who keep on criticizing him before (the loss),” he said.
Aldeguer said what matters is the people behind Bautista are still there to support him and still believe in him.
“The hunger (in Bautista) is still there,” he said.
