What’s next for Gorres?

Under scrutiny by discriminating boxing experts, Z Gorres lived up to his billing as the second coming of Gerry Penalosa as he stopped Roy Balataria at 0:19 of the sixth round in their battle for the Philippine interim flyweight championship at the Luneta last Saturday night.

It was an impressive showing by the 20-year-old Cebu fighter who’s being groomed as a future world champion.

Balataria, 20, proved to be a rugged warrior but not in Gorres’ class. He climbed into the ring fresh from three straight wins and was determined to burst Gorres’ bubble. Alas, he was taught a neat boxing lesson instead.

Gorres dropped Balataria with a right hook to the head in the fourth. Balataria, tough as nails, survived the assault then went down once more from a left straight in the fifth. Badly shaken, Balataria got up and somehow managed to walk back to his corner at the bell. In the sixth, Gorres let it all hang out and another crushing combination, capped by a left hook to the jaw, sent Balataria to the canvas for good. He was out on his feet for at least a minute.

Lawyer Rudy Salud, who was frustrated in three bids for Penalosa to regain the World Boxing Council (WBC) superflyweight title, said he’s found a new gem.

Last January, Salud flew to Cebu to check out Gorres in action and saw a diamond in the rough. Salud spoke to Gorres’ manager Tony Aldeguer on a partnership agreement. Aldeguer told Salud he would abide by whatever the former WBC secretary-general suggests.

The next step was to bring Gorres to Manila to fight in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Serikzhan Yeshmagambetov bout at the Luneta. Salud’s idea was to expose Gorres to the pressure of fighting in front of a huge crowd.

Salud sent videotapes of Gorres’ fights to close friends Sen. Ramon Revilla and Makati Mayor Jojo Binay for them to assess his potential. They were both at the Luneta to watch Gorres in the flesh.

"We were all focused on Gorres," related Salud. "There was a fire in Makati that day and Mayor Binay was busy supervising the firefighting. When it was over, he went straight to the Luneta. He was excited to watch Gorres because I had sent him a videotape earlier."

Aldeguer planed in from Cebu to accompany Gorres and was also at ringside.

When the smoke cleared, the ringsiders’ consensus was Gorres looked like "the real thing." Sen. Revilla told Salud, "makakabawi na tayo," referring to his unsuccessful campaign to bring Penalosa back to the throne. Sen. Robert Jaworski, watching beside Sen. Revilla, was as optimistic.

"I asked my friends to give me their best assessment," said Salud. "I wanted to find out if Gorres deserved all the attention we would give him. They were all impressed. Tulung-tulong daw kaming lahat for Gorres."

The morning after, Salud’s assistant George Alcantara fetched Gorres, trainer Edito Villamor and manager Sammy Gello-ani from Aldeguer’s townhouse on Ortigas Avenue to bring them to the lawyer’s residence in Quezon City. Salud had asked Aldeguer if he could host Gorres for Sunday lunch, introduce him to his family, and get to know him better. Aldeguer couldn’t attend because he took a 7 a.m. flight out to catch an amateur boxing competition in Dumaguete.

The group arrived in Salud’s home at 10:45 a.m. then Salud took them to his mother’s residence where she celebrated her birthday. That afternoon, Gorres and his companions flew back to Cebu.

"Gorres told me Balataria never hurt him although I thought Balataria landed some solid shots," said Salud. "He complained that he couldn’t move around too much because the ring foam was quite thick. I explained to Gorres my plans and he seemed excited. I intend to take Gorres and Edito to Freddie Roach’s gym in Hollywood. Edito is intelligent and he’ll learn a lot from Freddie. What he’ll learn will be taught to other Filipino fighters. If Gorres spends 60 to 90 days and Edito 45 days with Freddie, they’ll be changed people, in terms of skills, perspective and philosophy. At least, they won’t be too homesick together. I want Gorres to get over the culture shock of fighting Mexicans and blacks. He’ll get an overdose in Freddie’s gym."

But a trip to the US is not for the immediate future.

Salud said Gorres will face Rolly Lunas for the Philippine 112-pound title either on May 31 or June 1 at the Makati Coliseum then take on WBC International flyweight titlist Randy Mangubat. If Gorres continues his win streak–he’s unbeaten in a 13-0 record, with seven knockouts, Salud will bring him to the US, depending on the world peace situation, late this year.

Salud disclosed that he has written WBC president Jose Sulaiman for advice on how to nurture Gorres’ career. "Don Jose wrote me back suggesting that down the road, if Gorres can beat two or three rated Asian fighters, perhaps from Thailand, the WBC will get the champion to defend his crown against him," said Salud. "I mentioned to Don Jose that Gorres comes from Tony’s stable. Don Jose is aware of Tony’s ability to discover talented fighters like Edito, Andy Tabanas, Gerry, Randy Suico, Joma Gamboa, Malcolm and Noel Tunacao, Rodel Mayol and Dindo Castanares. So he’s not surprised that we’ve found another jewel in Gorres."

Salud said Mayol and Wyndel Janiola were among the few who beat Gorres in their amateur days. Gorres, however, defeated Mayol in a rematch. "Gorres still has a lot to learn," continued Salud. "Against Balataria, he didn’t attack the body too much. Balataria did a good job of putting his head on Gorres’ chest to defend against body punches."

Salud said he’ll go to Cebu on April 11 to attend a cockfighting derby and will take the opportunity to confer with Aldeguer on Gorres’ future. Salud will be Gorres’ registered manager, for purposes of WBC recognition, but in actual practice, Salud and Aldeguer will be partners all the way.

Judging from his showing against Balataria, Gorres’ fundamentals are clearly solid and his power in both fists is frightening. Additionally, he’s got a head on his shoulders. Gorres is enrolled as a computer science sophomore at the University of Visayas. The southpaw was a bemedalled amateur champion who appears to be following in Pacquiao’s footsteps. Like Pacquiao, Gorres is starting out as a flyweight and will likely mature into a featherweight. So far, he’s defeated veterans like Bert Cano, Flash Murillo, Flash Eraham, and Ricky Escaner. Gorres is on the right track. If he keeps his head in place, Gorres will go far for sure–Salud and Aldeguer will see to that.