Ormoc, Kananga host boxing tiff in Visayas

MANILA, Philippines - The Visayas leg of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines Area tournaments will be held March 22-27 with Ormoc City and Kananga, Leyte hosting the event.

ABAP executive director Ed Picson said brothers Mayor Eric Codilla of Ormoc and Mayor Elmer Codilla of Kananga welcomed the opportunity to help in the development of amateur boxing in the country.

In a joint statement, the Codillas said “it is an honor for Ormoc and Kananga to be part of the quest for the Olympic gold by giving the amateur boxers in the Visayas an opportunity to hone their competitive skills. We are also anxious to show to our visitors our own brand of hospitality in Leyte.”

The ABAP has stepped up its efforts to give boxers more fights in order to be consistently in top condition. Picson revealed that this was part of the assessment of the Cuban coaches hired to assist in the training of national boxers.

“Our goal is to give our amateur boxers more fights. Our Cuban coaches pointed out that Filipino boxers are lucky to fight six to eight times a year while Cuban fighters each have about 30 matches a year,” Picson said.

“We hope to address that deficiency by having regular tournaments locally and joining more international competitions. This is the mandate from ABAP chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and president Ricky Vargas.”

Luzon will host the next ABAP tournament on April 14-18, followed by Mindanao on May 10-15 and Southern Tagalog June 5-10.