Velasco, Serrantes: Men of Bronze

MANILA, Philippines - For Roel Velasco, nothing beats his Barcelona Olympics feat in terms of fulfillment not only as a boxer but as a Filipino athlete as well.

“That’s my greatest moment, I won’t trade it for any other,” said Velasco in Filipino. “I won three times in Barcelona and I was very, very proud (as a Filipino) when I received my bronze medal.”

On his way to Barcelona, Velasco also boxed his way to a gold medal finish in the Olympic qualifying in Thailand in 1992.

His silver medal feat in the 1997 World Championships also ranks high in his list of achievements. He also became the first Filipino to beat a Cuban fighter in the Chemistry Cup in Germany in 1993 and also the first Phl bet to fight in the Goodwill Games where he took a bronze medal.

“Masaya ako kahit papano at naka-pagbigay ako ng karangalan sa ating bansa at nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng tumulong sa akin lalong-lalo na sa Panginoon. (I’m very happy that I was able to give honor to our country and I thanked all those who helped me, especially God),” said Velasco, now the head coach of the national women’s boxing team.

His brother Mansueto actually bested his feat with a silver medal finish in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, making them the only brothers in Philippine sports history to win Olympic medals.

Despite the country’s failure to win the gold medal in the Olympics, Velasco believes it’s just a matter of time before the Filipinos could clinch the elusive mint in the quadrennial games.

“Sipag, disiplina at determinasyon ang kailangan para mag-succeed tayo (Hard work, discipline and determination are the key to success),” said Velasco. “Malalampasan at mahihigitan din ng mga susunod sa amin ang mga nagawa namin. Lagi kong sinasabi ko sa kanila na nagsasawa na ang bayan natin sa bronze o silver medal. kaya gold ang pangarapin nila (Our future athletes will surpass what we have achieved. I always tell them that they should always aspire for the gold).

Velasco’s bronze medal feat also matched Leopoldo Serrantes’ exploits during the 1988 Seoul Olympics where he disposed of three rivals, including two via referee-stopped-contest victories, to reach the bronze medal round in the lightfly category.

Serrantes, however, rammed into a tough Ismail Mustafov of Bulgaria and dropped a 0-5 setback to settle for the bronze.