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Philippines, 19 Apr 2024 |
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THE REDEMPTION PhilBoxing.com Mon, 11 Apr 2011  At 19 and undefeated in over 20 fights, he was hailed as the next Manny Pacquiao and stood side by side with the Filipino boxing icon in a Metro Manila motorcade that welcomed home Filipino boxing heroes after the successful staging of the first World Cup between the Philippines and Mexico held in the United States. Filipino boxing fans, except for a few critical boxing observers including myself, believed that and pinned their hopes on Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista, then considered as a boxing phenomenon from Candijay, Bohol to add more triumphs in a sport that has touched the lives of a nation of 90 million who found relief and joy in the victories of poor boys like Manny Pacquiao. Then on a night when he was topbilled in the 2nd World Cup against Daniel Ponce de Leon for the world junior featherweight crown, the hopes and dreams of Filipino boxing fans of seeing the rise of another boxing hero came crushing down as Boom Boom Bautista teetered, careened and fell in only the first round of the 12 round fight after receiving a barrage of punches from the gangling and awkward Mexican fighter. "I was angry at myself. That was my first reaction. And then I was so embarassed. I did not want to show my face to other people. I hid for five months," Boom Boom told me in a frank one-on-one in Bacolod City Saturday shortly before Donnie NIetes took his first fight as a junior flyweight. But Boom Boom's embarassment and self castigation were nothing compared to the wrath and outrage of those who believed in him and who felt they were taken for a ride with the thought that he would be the next Manny Pacquiao. Top photo: Rey Bautista in Bacolod Saturday. 
L-R: Magpet, Cotabato mayor Efren Pinol, ALA Promotions Vice-President Dennis Canete and Bautista. The adulation turned to scorn and hatred which Boom Boom felt. But going around the poorest areas of Bohol, Boom Boom said he realized that while he may have suffered a humiliating defeat, his misfortune was nothing compared to the hardships and poverty of people around him. "I saw people in my town breaking rocks to be sold for a few pesos and yet in spite of their hard life, they were still smiling and they were happy with their life. They were not giving up," he said. Realizing that, he came out of his self-made shellhouse and decided to fight again. And Boom Boom has nothing but thanks and gratitutde to his manager, boxing patron Tony Aldeguer, who kept his faith in the young Boholano fighter. Boom Boom was given two more obvious easy fights to help him regain confidence before he was brought to the big stage again against the veteran Heriberto Ruiz, who was expected to fold up in the face of Boom Boom's tremendous punching power. Once again, Boom Boom failed expectations. And whatever little believers he had left were further thinned. It would be safe to say that those who continued to believe in Boom Boom aside from Tony Aldeguer, were those who truly loved the luckless Boholano fighter. Back to square one again, followed by a slow rise until he hit the hump again in the controversial fight against Alejandro Barrera. People gave up on him but Aldeguer and his son, Michael perservered. They planned a redeption for Boom starting with a rematch with Barrera in February. In that fight, I saw a different Boom Boom, a new Boom Boom. With his hands held up high to defend the weak chin, he knocked out Barrera and displayed an overhauled Boom Boom Bautista. I was at ringside and I could not help but ask what caused the radical change in Boom Boom's fighting style? He did not attack carelessly and the breathing rhythm was just outstanding. "I know many people will not believe this but I broke the bone at the base of my left thumb in a sparring with Gerry Penalosa two weeks before my fight with Ponce de Leon. It was swelling and it was made worse when I met Lennox Lewis who innocently pressed my left hand and asked me 'Are you ok, man?'. I had cold sweat all over me from the pain that I felt," he said. Bothered by the painful left hand, he wanted to finish the fight with Ponce de Leon early, came in carelessly and got tagged. Boom Boom is not granite-chinned. That is a chink in his armor which he tries to overcome with his tremendous power. But in the fight against Ponce de Leon, he barely landed a decent punch before he went down. It was not until after the loss to Ruiz, when Boom Boom and his handlers decided to have the painful hand examined and what was discovered shocked even the orthopedic surgeon in the Asian Medical Center. The bone in the base of the left thumb was not just broken: it was crushed. A bone graft was done using his pelvic bone, said ALA vice president Dennis Canete. "The pain lingered for a while and it was not until the return bout with Barrera that I regained my confidence with my left hand," Boom Boom said. Now, he is starting to regain his self-esteem too and finds comfort in the support of a new-found love. Add to that the contribution of a young Cebuano physical conditioning coach, Pio Solon, who has made radical changes in the training regime in the ALA Boxing Gym and achieved dramatic results. "I have been to the lowest point in the my life. There is only one road that I will take now," he said. That road apparently is the one that leads to redemption. On June 11, Boom Boom will face an old nemesis, one of the two fighrters who dealt him his humiliating defeats - Heriberto Ruiz. And then, his ultimate goal is a rematch with Daniel Ponce de Leon. "I have to go back to these sad moments in my career. I can only regain my self-esteem if I am able to avenge my losses to Ruiz and Ponce de Leon," Boom Boom said. Indeed, there are still questions on his chin and whether he could take a punch from the likes of Ponce de Leon. But Boom Boom seems determined to take the road to redemption. He feels that he will be able to redeem himself only if he confronts the ghosts of the past. Click here for a complete listing of columns by this author. Click here for a complete listing of this author's articles from different news sources. |
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