Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Quijano: When Harry met Manyo By Jingo Quijano Last Round
I’VE been beset by queries from some boxing fans as to why those body punches landed by Harry Tañamor did not count. Well, actually they are supposed to, guys. Punches to the body are scoring opportunities.
But the problem with body punches is that the visual impact is sometimes minimal and is lost on some myopic judges.
Unlike head punches where the head snaps back, or is turned sideways by even a glancing blow, a fighter being hit by a body punch rarely moves, unless of course, it is of such impact as to stagger an opponent or knock him down.
Worse, when a fighter flurries to the body–similar to what Harry did when he tried to rally–an opponent will instinctively lower his arms to block the punches. It might then appear that the blows are landing on arms or elbows and an unsure judge might be unwilling to score a point.
And as if things were not difficult enough, factor in the rule that at least three of the five judges have to hit their computers within one second of the punch for it to count as a scoring blow and you have an idea on why body blows seldom register points.
But all things considered, Harry lost fair and square to a younger, faster opponent. If it had been a pro bout, the stronger, more experienced Tañamor would probably have worn his opponent down and taken him out in the later rounds.
But since this is amateur boxing, I guess we should just take it on the chin.
ALA BOYS. Fresh off the AJ Banal catastrophe, ALA Promotions’ Michael Aldeguer says they are not taking anything for granted.
After that shocking loss to its brightest hope for another world title, Michael says the experience was definitely an eye-opener for them.
This time around, on Aug. 30, Banal’s stablemates Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and WBO minimumweight champ Donnie Nietes will be squaring off against foreign foes who are once again virtually unknown to the public eye.
Bautista will be paired off against Mexican Eden “Anestesista” Marquez who has a record of 16 wins, 3 losses with 12 kayos. Nietes will be defending against Eddy Castro (12-3, 9KOs) of Nicaragua.
When asked how good Marquez is, Michael invokes his being ranked 25th in Mexico as proof enough of his competence. He explains that there are so many good fighters in Mexico that boxers ranked in the top 20 or 30 there might be better than some top 10 contenders in Asian countries.
So “Boom-Boom” definitely has his work out for him. Ditto with my favorite ALA fighter Nietes, who is coming off a very long layoff.
PUSHING THE ISSUE. Freddie Roach is fueling the fruition of the fantasy fight between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar dela Hoya by claiming he is waiving his fee if Manny loses.
Mighty words, coach. But it’s really unnecessary. I mean, why throw away good hard-earned money? Win or lose, faithful Freddie is definitely still entitled to his trainer’s cut.
If you recall, Oscar has stated that Roach’s comments about his being unable to pull the trigger ironically triggered something in the “Golden Boy.” So this can only mean it’s personal now between Freddie and Oscar. Not between Manny and Oscar.
Unfortunately, I believe the venerated trainer is mistaken. Punch stats after the Floyd Mayweather bout showed that Oscar actually threw more than his opponent. It was his accuracy that was off and so two of the three judges favored Floyd’s cleaner, effective punching. Not because Oscar failed to throw punches.
I don’t want to second guess Freddie’s intentions, but in my line of work, I’ve heard all sorts of promises and vows.
Put it in writing, coach. I’m offering my services as a notary public. For a fee, of course.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my buddy Dr Gerry Ypil who turns a year older, wiser, happier and healthier this week. Cheers!
