IT’S one of the sad realities of boxing. Some boxers are rarely prepared for a life outside the ring. We’ve heard tales of champions being forced to sell their belts or other properties because they had no savings or failed to prepare for their future.
Worse, there are also some who are forced to prolong their careers, taking on whoever wants a former champion or a former contender in their resume. There are too many to mention.
But once in a while you hear something positive. A ray of hope. A positive story like that of Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista, once the darling of the Cebuano boxing crowd whose love affair with the fans turned sour the moment he suffered that first-round knockout loss to Daniel Ponce de Leon in the World Cup of Boxing in 2007.
He was never the same again and the fickle Cebuano fans’ treatment of him also changed. A knock-out artist who could get the crowd to chant “Boom” in unison every time he unloaded his heavy hands--hence the nickname--Boom-Boom was supposed to be the next big thing after Manny Pacquiao.
Though he managed to pick his career up after that loss to de Leon, he lost to Heriberto Ruiz in 2011 and in their rematch, the Cebu crowd showed their displeasure at how he went head-butt hunting. His last fight was against Juan Martinez, and though he won via technical decision, he suffered severe cuts and was advised to retire.
He had a stint as trainer in the Philippine Air Force after that, and though then he told Rene Bonsubre of Philboxing.com that he had dreams of returning to the sport, he never did. After the Air Force, the next I heard of Boom-Boom was that he was already the boxing coach of the Philippine Military Academy, teaching the sweet science to the future military leaders of the country.
And just lately, I saw a curious post from his former coach Edito Villamor, who had a collage of Boom-Boom the boxer and Boom-Boom the soon-to-be corporal of the Philippine Army, complete with a rifle in his hand.
From fighting for fame and fortune to fighting for the country. I pity the combatant who finds himself engaging in hand-to-hand fighting with Boom-Boom, ‘cause those hands do pack a wallop.
Boom-Boom may have never been the champion some touted he would be at the start of the career, but he has shown that you don’t have to wring whatever tiny drop you can out of your career. You can actually change careers.