Balweg in big Vegas break

Another Filipino fighter will get an opportunity to showcase his skills in the lucrative US market.

WBC International superbantamweight champion Balweg Bangoyan of Caburan, Davao del Sur, is making his overseas debut against Belfast’s Wayne (The Pocket Rocket) in a 12-round bout at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on May 1 – the day before Manny Pacquiao takes on Ricky Hatton.

Bangoyan’s manager Mayor Zander Khan of Jose Abad Santos, Davao del Sur, said it’s the break he’s long been waiting for. The fight is intended to draw interest from English fans flying over to witness the Pacquiao-Hatton duel.

Khan said former WBA superlightweight champion Morris East, now living in Las Vegas, and veteran trainer Ben Delgado arranged the fight with promoter Thell Torrence. Delgado is also based in the US and a fixture in Pacquiao’s entourage.

Khan said his brother Frederick Wangkay and former Philippine superflyweight champion Jun Llano will train Bangoyan for his first defense of the crown he wrested from Kenya’s Sande Otieno on a technical decision in Davao City last October.

Bangoyan, 21, hasn’t fought in five months because of the deep cut in the corner of his left eyebrow he suffered in the Otieno bout. Now that the wound has healed, Khan said Bangoyan is ready to rumble. 

Khan said Bangoyan is slowly outgrowing the 122-pound division and will likely move up to featherweight after facing McCullough. He now weighs about 128 but shouldn’t find it difficult to scale down to 122 for McCullough.

Khan said the main event in the Las Vegas card will feature former world welterweight titlist Zab Judah.

Bangoyan plans to train at the Tiger City gym in Mandaluyong before moving to Las Vegas for the fight.

McCullough, 38, has a 27-7 record, with 18 KOs, compared to Bangoyan’s perfect slate of 13-0, with six KOs. The 5-7 Irishman was once the WBC bantamweight titleholder. An Olympic medalist, McCullough turned pro in 1993 and has lost his last three outings, two to Pacquiao victim Oscar Larios. McCullough, now a Las Vegas resident moonlighting as a mixed martial arts drumbeater, is known for his exciting, swashbuckling style. Among those he has faced in the ring are former world champions Erik Morales, Daniel Zaragoza, Nassem Hamed, Johnny Bredahl, Victor Rabanales and Jose Luis Bueno.

“Balweg could be the next Manny Pacquiao but he’ll have to prove it by beating McCullough convincingly,” said Kahn. “We think he has the tools to make it to the top.”

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Adamson University’s Angela (The Principal) Benting and Tatan (Rockette) Gata mowed down the University of the East’s Ghie Alanguilan and Abie Escandor, 21-7, 22-20 to capture the Inter-Collegiate Beach Volleyball Challenge title at the Cantada Sports Center in Taguig recently.

It was a long and gruelling road to the crown for the Lady Falcons who beat Ateneo’s Sharah So and Khryzette Onishi, 21-8, St. Benilde’s Stephanie Liu and 5-11 Zher Velez, 21-5, St. Benilde’s Kerilyn Mulingtapang and Kat Kwan, 21-8 and UE-2’s Dawn Dizon and Aan Soriano, 21-12 en route to the finals. All the matches were played on the same day.

Promoter Boy Cantada hosted the event which was supervised by Alex Depante as technical director and Pedrito Bermas and Vic Abalos as referees. In all, there were 28 matches played from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Benting, 19, and Gata, 20, were never threatened until the finals where they survived three set points in the second canto to clinch the best-of-three affair. A winner-take-all third set would’ve been a race to 15. Both Adamson players are business administration students. The 5-4 Benting is from Bacolod while the 5-6 Gata is from Bicol.

The tournament attracted 16 entries split into four groups of four teams each. Six schools were represented in the competition – Adamson, UE, Ateneo, St. Benilde, San Sebastian and Letran.

At the end of the eliminations, four unbeaten teams emerged with identical 3-0 records – UE in Group A, UE-2 in Group B, Ateneo (Jess Morado and Asia Urquico) in Group C and Adamson in Group D. In the semis, UE crushed Ateneo, 21-11, and Adamson trounced UE-2, 21-12. UE-2 took third place by repulsing Ateneo, 21-14, in a playoff.

Adamson took home the P10,000 first prize. UE got P5,000 and UE-2, P2,500.

Is there a deliberate attempt to misinterpret Solar’s suggestion for a 25 percent reduction in its PBA telecast rights fee?

Solar chief operating officer Peter Chanliong said in no uncertain terms that the TV network is not backing off from obligations spelled out in their contract with the PBA. But the issue of a 25 percent reduction came up only after the PBA asked what it would take, in terms of a downward rate adjustment, to insert a lockout clause in the contract.

In effect, Solar did not initiate the discussion on a possible reduction. The figure of 25 percent was quoted only in response to the PBA’s inquiry. Of course, malicious spin doctors will conveniently interpret Solar’s reply as a request for a discount. But you and I know what the truth is.

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Davis Cup executive director Paul Smith has confirmed that the Philippines-Pakistan tie will be held in Manila on July 8-10 and not Lahore because of security considerations.

Pakistan had the right to host the tie on July 10-12 but Philippine Tennis Association president Julito Villanueva appealed for a switch.

In a letter to Villanueva dated last March 16, Smith said: “In light of the recent increased terrorist activities in Pakistan and the recent incident involving the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, the ITF (International Tennis Federation) has completed a full examination of the current situation and has taken advice from various sources including our external security consultancy.”

However, Smith said in the event of another tie between the two countries, Pakistan will be given the choice of ground.

“I hope that you understand the reason for this decision and please rest assured that the ITF does not take the decision lightly,” he said. “We have an overbearing responsibility to ensure the safety of all those involved in the tie.”

The Philippines and Pakistan hurdled their first ties in Group II of the Asia Oceania zone. The Philippines blasted Hong Kong, 4-1 while Pakistan downed Oman, 4-1, in separate road victories.