THE Office of the Presidential Assistant of the Visayas (Opav) awarded World Boxing Association (WBA) interim featherweight champion Jhack Tepora with a trophy and a cash prize after a courtesy call yesterday.
Tepora together with his coach Julius Erving Jungco and the vice-president of Omega Pro Sports International Jerome Calatrava received the recognition from Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino and Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade at the Opav office.
The-25-year-old ace boxer of Omega Boxing Gym Tepora clinched the WBA interim featherweight title after knocking out Mexico’s Edivaldo Ortega in the ninth round in an undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s bout against Lucas Matthysse last July 15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“This recognition is important for me. It adds the motivation to work hard for upcoming fights. I did not expect that I will be recognized by Opav,” said the power-puncher Tepora, who holds a perfect 22-0-0, 17KO record.
Tepora added that he is calendared to fight again in November or December, but he still doesn’t know who the opponent is.
“This recognition will do not just for him but also will encourage other athletes to train hard on their chosen sport. What’s important is the sustainability. So I told him to keep doing your training and ayaw og abuso,” said Dino
Tepora received P20,000 while his coach received P10,000. (RSC)