TAMPA, Florida — The hotel rooms here at the Hyatt Regency were designed to be a place of refuge, windows and walls that allow peace and serenity for the thousands of guests that pass through this business district year round.
But for boxer Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista, those very same walls had become his own private prison as he continues to prepare for a scheduled ring encounter with Brazilian Giovanni Andrade today at the St. Pete Times Forum.
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In my many years of travel, I had never seen a hotel room look so bleak and lonely, proof that sometimes, a $400-a-night weekend accommodation can’t buy happiness.
By 9 am yesterday, the curtains were still drawn inside BoomBoom’s room. Light came only from the fading yellow bulbs and the flourescent shine that gleamed from the bathroom, where Rey’s patented black ALA boxing robe hung proudly by the mirror.
And except for the impertinent murmurs that came from the TV set, BoomBoom’s space was dead quiet, still as the night.
With the official weigh-in set at 4 pm, Rey intentionally faminshed himself virtually all day yesterday. He skipped breakfast and lunch, refusing food as though eating had become old-fashioned. Only fruits and measured amounts of liquid intake kept BoomBoom from passing out from hunger.
BoomBoom emerged from his confinement at 3 pm, and with super trainer Edito “ala” Villamor by his side, Rey ambled towards one of Hyatt’s large function rooms at the second floor. “Gutom kaayo” (I’m so hungry), he told me at Ballroom 1, where a sea of humnaity had gathered to witness the weigh-in.
At 5:04 pm, BoomBoom finally tipped the scales. He was a lean and mean, 122 pounds of pure muscle and bone. Making weight was reason for ecstacy. It signalled the end of the hunger strike, and the very thought of food, the anticipation of eating, made BoomBoom excited.
At 5:25 pm, BoomBoom was back in his room. He sat in a swivel chair near the huge wooden stable. In front of him was a mountain of food that Villamor ordered from a nearby restaurant. The feast began with a cup of Nissin’s beef noodles.
But quickly, the main course followed — Thai rice with carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and chicken.
At 5:47 pm, BoomBoom quit eating. He was still very hungry but he can’t eat too much at once because it would shock his stomach. He then paced around the room, throwing punches in the air.
At 6:03, he resumed feasting, this time he had Thai coconut soup.
He stopped again at 6:15. By then, BoomBoom was stuffed as a python. “I’m sleepy,” he said as he made his way through the cushy bed. Two minutes later, he was on the phone talking to his parents in Candijay, Bohol. His eyes lit when he told them about how he and Oscar Dela Hoya had become fast friends, sharing limousine rides and working out together.
At 6:48 pm, BoomBoom took a dip in the Hyatt’s pool in the fourth floor. Graceful as any sea creature, he barely made any ripple in the water, swimming freely, his mind fixed on nothing but the task ahead.
I had dinner with CDN’s Salven Lagumbay at the Avanzare Lounge last night. BoomBoom joined us at sometime around 7:45 pm. He had a bowl of thick clam chowder soup and I gave him a huge piece of the skewered shrimp I was having.
We chatted for a while, melting some of the tension that had been walled inside him for months now. I called my wife Ermee, who spoke to BoomBoom and bade her fellow Boholano the best of luck.
A half an hour later, BoomBoom excused himself. He was done for the day. “Isang tulog na lang,” and the wait is finally over. “I feel really good and I’ll try my very best tomorrow,” he said before disappearing in the lobby on the way to the bank of elevators.
This is my third time covering a Bautista fight here in the U.S. And just like his previous bouts in San Diego and in LA, I’m nervous as hell.
Having been given full access to BoomBoom, I’ve covered almost every aspect of his life. I now know him to be a good brother to his siblings, a loving son to his parents, and just simply a caring human being to his handlers, friends and fans.
He is kind, humble, and good. You want him to win so bad it hurts.
So go BoomBoom, go! Chase your destiny. A grateful nation is rooting for you.
P.S. Don’t forget. I will broadcast BoomBoom’s fight blow-by-blow today at station dyAB.
