Sunday, July 20, 2008 Quijano: Boxing Boom in Cebu By Jingo Quijano Last Round
SGG Promotion’s Sammy Gello-ani phrased it so succinctly when he said that Cebu is the “show-window” of Philippine boxing to the world.
At the press conference for last night’s card featuring Ciso Morales, Ranee Ganoy and veteran Bert Batawang at the Cebu Coliseum, the prolific promoter was emphatic about the need to showcase more talents and promote what could be our next generation of boxing superstars for this country.
Indeed, the Pacquiaos and the Peñalosas are closer to the end of their careers than its inception, so we cannot forever rely on them to carry the torch for Philippine boxing.
Even with the second tier of rising stars like Nonito Donaire, AJ Banal, Bernabe Concepcion waiting in the wings eager to attain iconic status, still there is a need to discover new talent.
I firmly believe that we have only scratched the surface of what could be an inexhaustible reserve of excellent boxers that our country can offer.
Thanks to fighters like Luisito Espinosa and Pacquiao who trail-blazed a path for Filipino boxers in the international scene, the younger batches are now reaping the fruits of their momentous forays and capitalizing on the myriad opportunities that have suddenly become so readily available.
And Cebu, the mecca of boxing in Asia, is the place to be in right now.
BOOM. Speaking of Cebu, I can’t recall of three consecutive fight weekends in recent memory here in our metropolis.
Fight junkies, rejoice!
Aside from last night’s event, this Saturday, July 26, is of course, AJ Banal’s fore-ordained date with destiny, the WBA superflyweight championship.
Guys, let’s show the world how we support and rally behind our very own and let’s cheer the roof out of the Cebu Coliseum and be part of history.
Then on Aug. 2, Bobby Pacquiao headlines a card at the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel and Casino against Decho Bankluaygym for the WBO Asia Pacific lightweight title.
OOPS. I was a few pounds off the mark in my last column when I mistakenly labeled Edwin Valero as the WBA lightweight belt, when in fact “El Inca” is the junior lightweight champion.
Of course, I got a scathing rebuke from my fellow Last Rounders.
No, actually, they were very nice. Thanks to boxing gurus Ramil Sayson, Robin Latonio, Mike “St. Michael”, Allen Brandon Bolair, and Yani Dy for pointing that out and for taking it easy on me.
As for Valero, since he doesn’t have any hardware at lightweight, I’m downgrading his appeal factor as a possible Pacquiao opponent to 25 percent.
CEBU LAWYERS BASKETBALL LEAGUE. My compañeros are eager to prove that they can dribble something else aside from the legal jargon that they spew out and so it’s all set for the CLBL on July 26, 1 p.m. at the Capitol Parish Gym. It’s sponsored by the USC LAW Batch ’95 in cooperation with the IBP Cebu City and Cebu Chapters
Participating teams are Northwoods, Pecandela Law Firm, Justice League, Paneros, YLAC, Mandaue-Lapu-lapu lawyers, Eagles and the Bros and In-laws;
Delighted with the opportunity to finally extract some revenge and hopefully plant a few elbows on grandstanding lawyers appearing before them, Judges Frank Seville, Cornelio Jaca and Wilson Ibones will be seeing action.
The CLBL is chaired by Ramsey Quijano and the tournament commissioner is veteran referee Boy Murillo.
See you in court!
THE LAST ROUND. It’s on three people close to this Last Rounder’s heart: my buddy Atty. Kenneth Yap, cousin Maila Quijano and godchild Angel Villamor who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!
