Tuesday, September 02, 2008 Quijano: Boom-Boom lowers the boom By Jingo Quijano Last Round
LAST Saturday night, Panamanian businessman and boxing connoisseur Carlos Costa who was seated to my right, offered one observation that proved to be very insightful: “If the ALA boxers lose tonight, nobody will be afraid of them anymore.”
Carlos explained that the mystique surrounding ALA Gym fighters was fading fast, with the losses of Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, AJ Banal and Z Gorres weighing heavily on the public’s perception of their fabled boxing stable.
As I recalled how Carlos’ compatriot, “El Torito” Concepcion scored a shocking upset over Banal just last month, I could only nod in agreement.
Indeed, I realized that ALA Gym’s credibility could very well have been on the line that night and ergo, it was very important for Bautista and Donnie Nietes not only to win, but to do so in impressive fashion.
Realizing perhaps that their performances would be emblematic of ALA gym’s legacy, the spunky kid from Candijay Bohol and the snake-man responded well to the challenge.
SURPRISED. Bautista was a bit tentative in the first round as he appeared flustered and caught off-guard by Marquez’ aggressiveness.
Carlos again confided to me that one of the strategies of the Marquez team was to do a Ponce de Leon and perhaps catch Bautista napping in the opening round.
But Bautista wisely stayed away from Marquez’ feral forays and boxed cautiously behind a high guard.
There were instances however, where he got tagged cleanly and he couldn’t muster some nascent form of offense. Clearly, the first round went to Marquez.
This is another aspect of his game that needs some work. Playing defense doesn’t necessarily mean giving up the round. Bautista has to learn the art of “stealing” a round by flurrying timely. Oscar De La Hoya and “Sugar” Ray Leonard are masters of this technique.
It may not seem much, but it can spell the difference between victory and defeat in a close, tightly-contested match.
Apparently, Bautista felt he could take Marquez’ shots and in the second round he discarded his bashful demeanor and proceeded to punish the Mexican for his temerity.
He turned aggressor almost immediately after the bell sounded and as soon as the first power shot landed flush, Marquez wriggled like a drunk in a windstorm.
“Boom-Boom” would later on lower the boom and proclaim loudly that he was back.
I’m sure most of you thought his opponent wasn’t much, but you have to admit, Bautista proved he was on a different level.
AHAS. Not to be outdone, Donnie Nietes was clinical and precise despite a very long layoff.
I have always thought that Donnie is a superstar waiting to get noticed and that snake-draping stunt would be a huge hit on American television.
He looks big for his weight class and has a hammer of a right hand. He’s also fearless and confident. A move up in weight class would probably be one of his career moves down the line, but for now, he should try and stay at the minimum weight class where he can maximize his advantages.
Watching Donnie manhandle his smaller, but game opponent I could not help but wonder whether the same will hold true for the De La Hoya-Pacquiao mismatch on Dec.
6.
LAST ROUND. It’s on Waterfront Hotel-Mactan’s savvy General Manager Hembler Mendoza who was kind enough to treat this Last Rounder to a couple of cold ones during the fight. Cheers!
