THE sporting world was at a standstill when the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) turned into a pandemic. Since then, sporting events, including boxing, have been either canceled or postponed to prevent the spread of the virus.
Nicaragua broke that lull in boxing and held its first boxing event on Saturday, April 25, 2020, amid the pandemic. However, everybody at the Gimnasio Alexis Arguello in Managua had to wear masks, observe social distancing, had the bottom of their shoes disinfected, their hands sanitized and their temperature taken.
Nicaraguan superstar Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez wasn’t exempted from those safety precautions. He was in attendance along with a crowd of around 800 fans in the boxing show promoted by former world champion Rosendo Alvarez.
This type of event could become a trend in the boxing world; other countries could follow suit.
Former world champion-turned-boxing promoter Gerry Peñalosa feels that what they did in Nicaragua was dangerous.
“It’s risky for everybody in the arena,” Peñalosa told SunStar Cebu. “For me, lives shouldn’t be at risk. It’s not worth it.”
International boxing judge Edward Ligas also shared his thoughts of the event and why it shouldn’t be applicable here in the Philippines.
“As of now, boxing should not return to the Philippines just yet until such time that experts from the Department of Health will give the go signal. We can’t compromise the safety of the boxers and ring officials,” he said. “Maybe in Nicaragua it’s okay because the government has given them the go signal. Nicaragua only has 11 positive cases of Covid-19. But here in the Philippines it’s more than 7,000 with almost 500 deaths now.”
As of April 27, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a total of 13 confirmed cases and three deaths in Nicaragua. The Philippines, on the other hand, has 7,579 total confirmed cases with 501 deaths.
Another option being explored in boxing right now is fighting in a venue without an audience and the fight can be seen on live stream.
“I’m okay with live stream on social media but not now, not until the cases of Covid-19 have decreased. It’s still going up. Maybe, we can protect the ring officials, but the boxers and trainers? It’s really hard,” said Ligas. “We, the ring officials, can have social distancing and wearing of face masks. The boxers, however, are nose-to-nose on top of the ring; they are at risk.”
For Peñalosa, the ambiance of fighting in an empty arena won’t be the same fighting in front of a packed audience.
“If the promoter can shoulder all the expenses of the show without gate sales then good for him. But for me, I don’t like boxing without an audience,” said Peñalosa, who’s itching to promote a boxing event as soon as the pandemic dies down.