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"Cotto Clone" Omar Henry Turns Down Pacquiao Invitation By Ryan Songalia PhilBoxing.com Wed, 07 Oct 2009  For the last week or so, the boxing internet forums have been abuzz about a relatively unknown prospect under the Top Rank banner named Omar Henry. Henry's pro debut video has already generated nearly 20,000 views on YouTube due in large part to his comparisons to current WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, whom Henry looks up to. The similarities did not go unnoticed by the Manny Pacquiao camp which extended an invitation to Henry to join them in Baguio City, Philippines for sparring. Henry, 22 years old of Houston, TX, turned pro to little fanfare after a hand injury forced him out of the 2008 Olympic trials. He was immediately interested in the opportunity, but has declined the offer due to a prior obligation: College. Henry is currently a full-time student at Houston Community College's west loop and central campuses majoring in political science. He says that missing a month of school would set him too far back in his studies. "I would be out there about a month or something like that," Henry, 5-0 (5 KO), says. "In college if I miss more than four days I'd be dropped from classes that I paid for from my own pockets. I'd have to drop out of my classes that I'm getting A's in and start all over again." Henry says that schedule conflicts and that alone led to him making the decision. He says he had read on forums about Puerto Rican fans potentially feeling betrayed about Henry helping Pacquiao prepare for his November 14 clash with Cotto in Las Vegas. Henry himself is half Puerto Rican. "It wasn't a Puerto Rican thing, it's nothing big like that. It's just because of my college schedule. My mom taught me that I have to keep school number one. "I don't want it to be like that because I want to appeal to everyone; Not all my fans are Puerto Ricans. I don't want to limit myself to one group, I want to be a world champion. I want to be popular in the Philippines, Australia, all over. I like it because I have pride but I don't want to be categorized in just one little group." Henry, a former Texas Golden Gloves champ with a 60-5 amateur record, trains with Ronnie Shields and is co-managed by Cameron Dunkin and Jay Johns. He says while he wishes he could be a part of such a big event that he feels his time will eventually come. "Of course there is a part of me that wishes it would happen so I could be on HBO 24/7. I know eventually one day I will be a world champion in my own right, though. It's just spilled milk and it will blow over. I'm doing this for me and my career when it comes to school and life." Henry says that sparring with Pacquiao would have been a great learning experience but that he gets great work locally from Kermit Cintron, Verno Phillips and Vanes Martirosyan, among others. Says Jay Johns: "We're grateful to the Pacquiao camp for thinking of us but unfortunately education comes first. We want all kids that look up to boxers to know that boxing and education can go hand in hand." -RS Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at songaliaboxing@aol.com. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ryan Songalia.  |
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