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Carl Jammes Martin Victorious Again But Ifugao Boxers Need LGU Support PhilBoxing.com Wed, 25 Sep 2019 By Teodoro Medina Reynoso and Romuel Alarcon Carl Jammes Martin (C) victorious in his last fight. Highly promising Ifugao fighter Carl Jammes Martin won convincingly once again recently stopping veteran internationalist Benezer Alolod in the fourth round of their 10 round co-main event fight in Mandaluyong City to earn the Philippine Boxing Federation (PBF) bantamweight tite. Martin is also currently the WBA Asia and WBO Oriental youth bantamweight champion. It was the 14th straight victory for Martin, all but one coming via the short route since he turned pro three years ago. His latest win will surely boost his ranking and put him closer to his dream of becoming one day a world boxing champion, the first from Ifugao province to do so. However, Rene Washington of the Ifugao Boxing Promotion (IBP) thinks that Martin is not ready yet for a world title crack. "The reason we are giving Carl Jammes the types of fights and opponents he have had is to give him exposure and experience dealing against different styles and at the same time boost his professional resume," Washington explained in our phone patched recent interview over Radio Pilipinas 2 Sports Radio. Washington said he intends to pit Martin against a still unnamed Mexican fighter before the end of the year in a bout he will organize possibly in Ifugao and then determine where they will proceed next moving on to bigger fights next year. While Carl Jammes has been very successful in his pro boxing journey, it does not reflect the continuing struggle of his fellow ifugao boxers who have to make do with very limited training facilities and resources they have in the province. Washington lamented that ten years after the establishment of the IBP, their boxers still have had to content themselves training inside a makeshift tent-covered gym using just fabricated boxing equipment, including punching bags. This scenario brings back memories of that scene in the "Rocky" series where Sly Stallone as Rocky Balboa had to improvise in training, making the most of what was available in his isolated forest training camp as his Soviet hosts deprived him deliberately of modern training amenities in preparation for a heavyweight title defense against the dreaded steroid-boosted Ivan Drago. But that's just a movie on boxing. And under the present condition and requirement in pro boxing, natural training may not suffice. Washington said boxers and other athletes from the province and the northern highlands in general have great potentials because not only of their natural exposure to high altitude physical regimen from their childhood and their healthy diet that make them strong and hardy but also of their warrior character forged by centuries of tradition. "It is my dream and aspiration to develop more Carl Jammes Martin from a dozen of young fighters currently training under the stable of the Ifugao Boxing Promotion," Washington said. Cognizant of the need for experienced boxing hand to train and guide his wards, Washington has contracted the services of a trainer from the Visayas. This hopefully will fuse together the natural potentials of Ifugao fighters and the now age old traditional experience and expertise of the Visayan in developing world class boxers, he explained. However, Washington stressed the need for local government support in upgrading and modernizing athletic and training facilities in the province and encouraging more Ifugao youth to engage in sports. "With the proper training facilities, there will no longer need to go to Baguio City or elsewhere and with the local government support, we can organize more top level competitions and develop boxing right here in Ifugao," Washington said. The days will not be far off when Carl Jammes Martin and his fellow Ifugao fighters follow the path taken by Rey Tam, the most prominent boxer produced by the highland region who rose up in world ranking to battle the late great Alexis Arguello for the junior lighyweight championship back in the late 70s. |
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