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Philippines, 26 Apr 2024 |
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AN EMBARRASHING PERFORMANCE FROM AN ILL-PREPARED FIGHTER By Ed de la Vega, DDS PhilBoxing.com Mon, 14 Sep 2015  Buried in the deepest recesses of the much bally-hood ?retirement? party that was the Mayweather-Berto fight at the MGM Grand Casino Hotel last night was an embarrassing match up that was presented as a ?fight? amongst the undercard of the main event. Gervonta ?Rambo? Davis of Baltimore, Maryland (12-0-0, 11KO) was pitted against a relatively unknown Filipino ?boxer? named Recky ?The Terror? Dulay (8-2-0, 5KO). How Dulay ended up facing the undefeated warrior from Maryland is beyond me. Apparently, he was a very late substitute to the opponent previously picked to give Davis a run for his money. In an article written by philboxing writer Lito de los Reyes , Dulay according to his manager Yolly Alfante of the Buhay Kamao Foundation, Inc., was recommended by Ronald Jeres to fight Davis. I truly understand the positive aspect of the recommendation - a chance for Dulay to be on a world-class stage as the MGM Grand and an opportunity to cash in with an amount he perhaps never made before in his 10 bouts as a fighter. For all you know he may even pull a win ala Manny Pacquiao when he defeated Ledwaba for his first world title. Jeres and Alfante may have considered all the factors involved in Dulay taking the fight with Davis. But at the same token they may have missed many things deliberately or not that led to the painful loss Dulay suffered. Dulay left Manila of September 8th, barely four days before he was scheduled to fight Davis. The trip is Dulay?s first to the US. I am positive he was still jet-lagged when he climbed up the ring at the MGM. I know he has fought in South Wales, Australia. But regardless of how big was the venue down under, it is a far cry from the MGM Grand, the hollowed grounds where the greatest of fighters have displayed their wares, Manny Pacquiao included. For a newbie, it?s hard not to be awed by the place. As fellow philboxing photographer, Jhay Otamias stated, ?Sana hindi masindak sa laki nang MGM at masilaw sa mga maraming ilaw.? (Hopefully he does not get intimidated by the enormity of the MGM and the many bright lights?) Well, it seems those concerns indeed happened! The seemingly jet-lagged and fairly intimidated Dulay was a pathetic sight even at the weigh-in. He looked shabby as if he just got out of bed. His hair was all over the place, unkempt and uncombed. Someone amongst the press corps turned to me when Dulay was announced as ?from Manila, the Philippines? and said ?If he lasts two rounds, I will buy you a drink after the fight.? On Saturday afternoon, as Dulay walked into the ring, he obviously was intimidated and unfocused. He looked lost! And, his ?Trainer? was not much help either. Perhaps he was intimidated too. Dulay was so lost he did not even know which corner to go and it took a Commissioner to lead him to his assigned red corner. Dulay had only one person with him. That fellow must have been his ?trainer?. He had no cutman and no secondary corner man. Sadly, it turned out they were unnecessary. As the fight started, we can immediately tell that he was not prepared. The few punches he threw were without zip. His opponent on the other hand, a former 2012 US National Golden Gloves champion appeared in top form. A hard left body shot he threw landed on Dulay and the kid dropped to his knees. He barely beat the count. When the fight resumed a few more well-placed shots dropped Dulay again and from our vantage point on Section 113 at the MGM, we knew the fight is over. When he got up Dulay turned around and hanged on the ropes seemingly giving up. Thus, Referee Russell Mora stopped the fight. Time: 1:34 of round 1 As previously mentioned, I am aware of the few positives of allowing a fighter to accept an opportunity to take a fight. On top of that coming from abroad is indeed a great one to consider. But, money should not be everything! From my perspective, his handlers fed Dulay to the lions. That statement may not sink in too well with Jeres and Alfante. But it is what it is. Hopefully they will understand that it is meant without malice but more of a concern for the health of Dulay Did they even consider the very short notice? Four short days! By God how can they do that to this kid? Did they even have a fight plan to counter whatever Davis may bring, or were they just hoping to wing it and hopefully he gets lucky. Oh, incidentally, why do our friends at the GAB allow these fighters to be handled this way? What happened to their regulatory function? Hopefully something is done to stop these none sense. We don?t like to see nice kids get hurt all in the name of money. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.  |
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