Ring judge zaps TV show

Vic Rodriguez is a boxing judge who also happens to be a doctorate degree holder and president of a prominent consulting firm, SEA Consultants, Inc., that undertakes studies for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, among others. He’s a no-nonsense type of guy–intelligent, sharp, and straight to the point.

So when Rodriguez sent me a copy of a letter addressed to my friend Jessica Soho of GMA-7, I knew it had to be something serious. Rodriguez said he was "disturbed" by the "one-sided" presentation of boxing in a TV documentary hosted by Jessica recently. While he admitted the show was "fairly well done," Rodriguez said the research for the documentary was inadequate.

Unfortunately, I missed watching the show. So I have no comment on it, one way or the other. But there were others, aside from Rodriguez, who told me they were as disturbed at the way the show seemed to put boxing in a bad light. I’m sure Jessica had no intention to denigrate the sport or do a hatchet job. I’m positive her approach in presenting the dark side of boxing was in the hope of pushing for reforms. Jessica has a reputation as a level-headed journalist who like Rodriguez, is a straight shooter–that’s why she’s multi-awarded and well-respected.

I remember being interviewed by Cheche Lazaro for a Probe TV episode on boxing about a year ago. I recall that Probe went to great lengths in presenting the pros and cons of the so-called Sweet Science and the result was a fair treatment.

Jessica’s report was apparently triggered by Maruel Zayas’ death in the wake of his knockout loss to Alex Escaner in Tarlac last April.

Rodriguez raised five points in his letter.

First, he accused the TV show of creating the impression that boxing has only brought misery and death to fighters. "It failed to report that boxing has been a way out of poverty for many poor and indigent Filipinos," wrote Rodriguez. "Without boxing, Flash Elorde would have remained a shoeshine boy and Manny Pacquiao, a lowly laborer. It did not bring out the fact that it is through boxing that some impoverished Filipinos were able to gain fame and fortune."

Second, he refuted the notion that the Zayas-Escaner fight was a gross mismatch. "Admittedly, Escaner was the pre-fight favorite," he continued. "However, this could not be considered a mismatch by any stretch of imagination. Escaner cannot be regarded as a champion-in-the-making as portrayed by the TV report because he was dropped from the Philippine top 10 ratings several months ago."

Third, he denied that comebacking boxers have little or no chance of regaining their form. "Ms. Soho implied · that boxers who have retired cannot make a successful comeback," said Rodriguez. "She maintained that Zayas’ endeavor to fight again after a layoff was an exercise in futility. The experience of many world champions disprove the point-Sugar Ray Leonard was inactive for two years before he won the WBC middleweight title from Marvin Hagler in 1987, Zack Padilla won the WBO junior welterweight crown in 1993 after laying off from 1987 to 1990, Jersey Joe Walcott did not fight during the years 1932, 1934, 1942 and 1943 prior to beating Ezzard Charles for the world heavyweight title in 1951, George Foreman was inactive from 1978 to 1986 and reclaimed the heavyweight crown in 1994, and Muhammad Ali stopped fighting for two years before knocking out Foreman in 1974 to regain his heavyweight title.

Fourth, he argued that boxing isn’t the world’s most dangerous sport. "Ms. Soho gave an impression that of all sports, boxing has the most fatalities," he went on. "Nothing is farther from the truth. The breakdown of the 459 sports fatalities between 1969 and 1980 show that boxing had two deaths, mountaineering and rock climbing 93, motorcycling 85, football 66, horsebackriding 53, parachuting and hang gliding 34, motor racing 28, rugby 32, scuba diving 28, canoeing 16, cricket and hunting 9, golf 6, rowing 4, and karate and judo 3." Rodriguez said the statistics were submitted by Lord Brooks to the House of Lords in England in connection with the debate on the 1991 boxing bill.

Finally, he pointed out that Juanito Rubillar is the WBC International lightflyweight champion, not the middleweight titleholder as was reported on the show. Rodriguez said the report was off by 52 pounds.

In his final stab, Rodriguez said:

"Admittedly, boxing being a contact sport has its attendant dangerous features. Aware of this, boxing authorities all over the world have implemented various measures to minimize if not totally eliminate them. In addition to this, it has served as avenues for deprived individuals to better their lives. All these should have been considered in Ms. Soho’s report."

Rodriguez’ reaction is understandable and Jessica shouldn’t be offended by it. Rodriguez is a prominent figure in the country’s boxing community and has well-meaning thoughts about the sport. His opinions should be taken into account in any discussion regarding the positive and negative sides of boxing.