Sunday, December 30, 2007 Quijano: Boxing’s best performers 2007 (continued from yesterday) By Jingo Quijano Last Round
BEST RIGHT HAND WORLD—Kelly Pavlik. It looks crude and oafish. But don’t tell that to former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor who suffered his first career loss by knockout because of it.
LOCAL—Donnie Nietes. All the frustration and years of waiting for ALA Gym’s first world champion seems to have been fused inside his anvil of a right hand.
HONORABLE MENTION. Bernabe Concepcion. There’s a growing buzz about this kid. His right hand seems to be causing it.
BODYPUNCHING
WORLD—Ricky Hatton. The “Hit-man” isn’t the type who goes for your looks. He likes your body more.
LOCAL—Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista. Sure, he got pancaked by Ponce de Leon in one round. But to date that’s his only loss.
Neither does that detract from the fact that this kid likes to go to the body with impunity, which sometimes leads him to stray below the mark.
BEST RING ENTRANCE
WORLD—Michael Katsidis. The Gladiator costume looked better on Russell Crowe. But you have got to give him high marks just for gumption.
LOCAL—Donnie Nietes. The “Zuma” effect never fails.
BEST CHIN
WORLD. Shane Mosely—Streaking Miguel Cotto stopped all his previous four opponents. But Sugar Shane showed him that the best fighters have the best chins. He’s never been knocked out and he just might retire never knowing how it feels.
LOCAL. Gerry Penalosa. He is so slick and adept at parrying and swatting away enemy artillery. But on the few occasions that his opponents manage to find their mark, they realize it doesn’t even matter. Now that’s frustrating.
MEMORABLE QUOTE. It’s actually the worst excuse for a loss that I’ve heard.
And this comes from Antonio Tarver’s flapping lips when he explains how a foreign substance made him weak in his fight with Bernard Hopkins. “Must be something in the steaks”
BOXING AT THE PASEO. For a boxing fan like me, a pleasant discovery was a wonderful venue for live boxing action. The Paseo located at Mabolo. I’ve watched two boxing events there and I must say boxing and the Paseo is a match made in heaven.
First was during the semifinals of ABS-CBN’s boxing reality show “Idol” and just recently at a featured card, which billed Reman Salim against Ricky Sismundo in the main event.
Live bands and acoustic performances while sipping your favorite booze?
Man that’s sooo 2007. Scorching live boxing action is the new mirth for Cebu’s nightlife.
LATAGAW IDOLS. I hate missing boxing shows. But on the same night “Idol” held its championships, I was with another group of idols—my fellow Latagaw Alumni who came over for our Christmas Party. It was a homecoming of sorts for most of our fraternity brods who came all the way from neighboring provinces just to grace the event. Ditto with our lovely Lamdag sisters.
Needless to say, it was a successful and memorable event. In happiness, blood, sweat and tears.
THE LAST ROUND. It’s on boxing expert and Last Rounder Dr. Cesar Chan. Cheers doc!
