So what’s in store for Cebu Boxing in 2010?
For starters, Cebu’s current crop of world champions will hold on to their belts. Donnie Nietes starts the year off on January 23 when he defends his WBO minimumweight championship for the fourth time. Nietes is the most underrated champion among the country’s world champions and doesn’t even get half of the attention of what the likes of Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire are receiving. For 2010, my wish for Nietes is that he gets more recognition and respect from sports fans and the media. WBC light flyweight champion Rodel Mayol will also hold off a Mexican challenger (possible Omar Niño) in his first title defense. My 2010 wish for Mayol is that he takes on an even more focused and determined mindset towards boxing, and not give in to complacency. If he puts his heart into it, he’ll be good enough to last as champ for at least two years. Interim WBO light flyweight champion Johnriel Casimiro should learn from the “mistakes” that Marvin Sonsona committed on his short stint as world champ. As an interim world champion, he’s a champ “in waiting” and must protect this position as if his life depended on it. My wish for him is that his next line-up of opponents be a good choice of challengers who’ll help polish, improve and make Casimero a more complete fighter. He still has a lot of rough edges to smoothen, and his current status is already a call to improve his craft.
My other wish for local boxing is that Cebu’s other world-class boxers will finally get the breaks to challenge for a world championship, or at least be tested against a top ten contender so they can be seen by the international boxing market. Milan Melindo and Michael Domingo are tops on this list. They’re so ripe for a shot at a world title, but can’t seem to get the breaks. AJ Banal, Boom Boom Bautista are on their “re-launched” careers and won’t get world title shots soon. Mark Melligen and Jason Pagara are also on the same mode, albeit at different stages of their respective careers. My wish for all of them is that they learn from their 2010 fights and improve to become better boxers.
Cebu Boxing in 2010 will also need the support and drive of all those behind all these boxers. ALA Promotions will continue to be at the forefront, kicking off with a Sinulog card on January 14 and Nietes’s defense a week later in Manila. My wish for ALA is that the drive to push and discover world class talent never wane despite everything that has happened, and that they get more support from the TV partners, the corporate world and the local government.
Fortunately for Cebu, SGG Promotions has proven to become the alternative route to a world championship. Through his tie-up with Sampson Lewkowics, SGG has worked on the careers of Casimero, Sonsona and Ciso Morales. My wish for SGG is that he continues to find those rough and unknown diamonds like he did with the three. His international and local network has slowly started bearing fruits, a most welcome development for the local boxing community.
On the trainers’ side, Cebu has been blessed with the arrival of Nonito Donaire Sr. I forgot to write about this in my 2009 year-ender, but he has made a big impact on the local boxing circle just by his mere presence in the training camps of Casimero, Sonsona, Morales and the Braveheart boxers of Manny Piñol (are they still around?). My wish for Cebu Boxing is that our trainers get to improve their craft so that all our boxers will get a boost in their development. ALA has sent trainers to both the Wild Card Gym and Las Vegas. The trainers should now treat these stints as an opportunity to learn from the U.S. gyms and transfer the “technology” to local shores. Donaire’s coming over is like bringing our trainers to the U.S. We hope this rubs off on all the trainers with whom he works here in Cebu.
Overall, my wish for Cebu Boxing is that we now take a more holistic approach in building our stock. We already have talented world-class boxers on the brink of breaking into the world class scene. We also have the management savvy and network of ALA and SGG to get those international fights. And with the constant improvement of our trainers, Cebu Boxing should be making a bigger impact in 2010.
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Time-out: Happy Golden Anniversary to the Guevarra’s! >>> Happy New Year to all! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.