FORMER world title challenger Jonas Sultan returns to his roots, back training in the gym that he used to train at as an amateur.
After months of being holed up at the ALA Gym due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sultan is finally back in his hometown of Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte. He’s reunited with his older brother Dondon Sultan, who’ll be acting as his coach, at the Cairo Sy Boxing Gym, just an hour away from his hometown in the neighboring town of Sidangan.
“When I was an amateur I used to train here. It’s just my first time to be back here as a pro,” Sultan told SunStar Cebu. “I learned boxing mainly from my father and my older brother Dondon. Cairo Sy Boxing Gym was the leading promoter of boxing here in our place.”
Sultan just finished his 14-day quarantine and has already been sparring at the Cairo Sy Boxing Gym. He recently did four rounds with Alan Alberca after months of no sparring.
“I felt a bit weak maybe because it’s my first sparring in a long time,” said the 28-year-old Sultan.
Sultan is keeping himself in fighting form in his hometown as he is set to decide on which promoter he’ll sign with next month.
After the ALA Boxing Gym and ALA Promotions closed down, the ALA Boys went their separate ways. Four-division world champion Donnie Nietes has received offers from different promoters all around the world but is yet to decide on his future. Same goes with former world champion Milan Melindo and world-rated Melvin Jerusalem. Albert Pagara has already signed with MTK Global and D4G Promotions, while KJ Cataraja is leaning on signing with a Japanese promoter.
Sultan has already received offers from different promoters locally and internationally. One of the most tempting offers right now for him is from Roy Jones Jr.’s RJJ Boxing Promotions, which was offered to him through his former conditioning coach Nick Curson.
Sultan, 16-5 with 10 knockouts, is still one of the most talented super flyweights in the country right now. He rose in prominence after scoring a huge upset over current World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight king Johnriel Casimero in 2017. The win over Casimero earned him a title shot against International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas. Sultan lost to Ancajas by unanimous decision in their all-Filipino world championship bout in 2018. (EKA)