The Myth of a Resurgent Philippine Boxing

by TED LERNER

Manny Pacquiao has risent to the top of the boxing world. But what about the rest of Philippine boxing?

(Manila)–There seems to be a general consensus in these parts that the spectacular rise of Manny Pacquiao to the top of the boxing heap has suddenly meant a phenomenal resurgence in boxing in the Philippines. The line of thinking goes something like this: the Philippines currently has, and always did have, talent that is on par with boxing powerhouses such as Mexico and the United States. The only thing holding them back all these years was the sheer lack of opportunities. Now that those opportunities have followed in the wake of Pacman’s ascension, Filipino boxers are poised to take their rightful place at the top of the sport.

But is it really true that Filipino boxers got little notice only because they lacked anyone paying attention? At one time I would have said yes to that question. Back in the early and mid-1990’s, boxing seemed like a dying sport in the Philippines. Sure there were plenty of promotions every week. And boxing has always been a popular fixture on television in the Philippines. But with the exception of Luisito Espinosa and Gerry Penalosa, promoters seemed to have an impossible time getting their guys noticed overseas. When Jose Sulaiman paid a visit to the country sometime in the mid 1990’s, desperate promoters fawned over him like he was Jesus Christ. Yes, some people will do anything for a title shot.

Of course nothing succeeds like success, especially in this age of warp speed communication. Pacquiao came along at just the right time. His furious, all action style is irresistible to fans the world over. And with the internet, people everywhere could see and read about him at the touch of button while sitting in their underwear. And then people started to wonder; how many more Pacquiao’s are out there hiding in that island archipelago?

Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy promotions came calling and wondering that very thing. They had seen the huge crowds of Filipinos turn up in Vegas when Pacquiao fought and realized there was money to be made. So they signed a deal with Tony Aldeguer’s Ala Boxing in Cebu to establish a pipeline to the States for Aldeguer’s fighters. ALA fighters were known to be talented and well trained. And then Golden Boy sent over their favorite matchmaker, the Argentinian Sampson Liewkowich, who heaped praises upon Filipino fighters, saying they were now the best in the world. To many Filipinos this was a sure signal that it was only a matter of time before the Philippines started producing more Manny Pacquiao’s.

Well, here we are on the cusp of 2009 and, frankly, we are nowhere nearer finding the next Pacquiao than we were two years ago. Take a look at the Ring ratings and see how few Filipinos populate the top ten in each weight division. Other than Pacquiao, I counted only seven Filipinos in the current Ring ratings. And of those, while several might turn a few heads, most will never get much attention beyond the beaches of Cebu.

Florentine Condes and Donnie Nietes are numbers five and seven, respectively, in the strawweight division. Both are decent fighters but fighting in boxing’s invisible division will hardly garner any attention or excitement. The aging veteran Juanito Rubillar occupies the fifth spot at Jr. Fly. But after failing in his fifth try recently for an alphabet strap, Juanito’s days as a top fighter are clearly coming to an end. Nonito Donaire sits in the 1st spot at flyweight and is easily the best of the lot currently ranked. If Donaire can pull off about five more spectacular knockouts of the kind he handed to Vic Darchinyan in the first round earlier this year, he can start knocking on the door of Pacman territory.

ALA’s Z Gorres is ranked 8th in the Jr. Bantamweight division. To know everything you need to know about Gorres and his ability to stir the fans, just take a look at his first name and just add a few more of the same. Case closed.
WBO champion Gerry Penalosa occupies the sixth spot at Bantamweight. I’ve always loved the affable Gerry. But he’s probably got only one or two fights left. For sure, he won’t be reaching Pacman’s level. Then there’s Bernabe Concepcion at number 8 at Jr. Feather. Concepcion has looked great in his stints in the States . Other than Donaire, Concepcion has the most potential for stardom than anyone.

Taken all together, the lineup just described, while pretty decent, hardly represents a resurgence in Philippine boxing. Sure there are some good fighters on the horizon who aren’t ranked right now. One of my favorites right now is featherweight Bawel Bangoyan. But the Davao native is very much still a rough diamond who needs a lot more polishing.

So what’s the problem in Philippine boxing? There are many theories. Ask referee Bruce McTavish and he’ll respond with one word: “jab.” It’s a subject dear to my heart as I’ve often wondered why trainers here seem to forget to teach boxing’s most effective punch. In most fights in the Philippines, the boxers are simply trying to tear each other’s head off, which leads to fights often times deteriorating into hug fests. You can’t have a resurgence in the sport if your boxers can’t jab.

A good window into the underlying problems in Philippine boxing is Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista. He surged out to a 23-0 record. Unfortunately he was feasting on nobodies. Then he won a useless and worthless WBO Asia Pacific belt and somehow that qualified him to fight for the title. The media here hailed him as “the next Manny Pacquiao.” Until he got shellacked by Daniel Ponce de Leon in one round. Clearly he was pushed too fast and wasn’t ready.

It’s happening nearly every weekend in the Philippines these days. A guy wins a WBO Oriental belt—it’s always vacant– against a tuk tuk driver from Thailand and suddenly he’s ranked in the WBO ratings. That gets him the title shot in Vegas and suddenly everyone thinks they’ve got the next Pacquiao. Maybe he’ll get lucky. But probably not. It’s all too much too fast.

Of course, it’s very possible that there will never be another Pacquiao simply because Manny is the kind of fighter you only see once in a generation, or two. But while Pacquiao is exceptional, there is loads of real talent in this country. There should be many more successful fighters than there the current rankings suggest.

Perhaps to find the next Pacquiaos, you have to develop fighters in the same way Pacquiao did it. Go to boxrec.com and take a look at Pacquiao’s list of opponents when he was coming up. He wasn’t rushed or pushed too fast. He took on the best prospects in the Philippines, then the best around Asia before heading off to try his hand in the big leagues. He became a great fighter not by wiggling through the politics of some slimy boxing organization, but by fighting good fighters, testing himself, getting taken to the limit.

In other words, Pacquiao did it the old fashioned way. And no matter how big the Pacman rises in the sport, that’s the only we’ll ever see a real resurgence in Philippine boxing.

This article originally appeared on www.asianboxingnews.com