In about six months, Philippine boxing got decimated by a string of misfortunes.
From five world champions at the start of 2020, the Philippines has been left with only one reigning titleholder: Mark Magsayo.
Jerwin Ancajas kicked off the spate of bad breaks when he bowed to Argentine Fernando Martinez, losing the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight crown in Las Vegas in late-February.
Then came John Riel Casimero, whose World Boxing Organization bantam belt was taken away by the WBO for committing back-to-back violations in the sunup to a mandatory defense in April. The mishaps didn’t stop there.
Nonito Donaire suffered a brutal beatdown at the hands of Naoya Inoue in Saitama early last month, enabling the Japanese to add the World Boxing Council (WBC) 118-lb title to his growing collection.
As they say, when it rains it pours.
Over the weekend in Monterrey, Mexico, Rene Cuarto saw his reign as IBF minimumweight titbits come to a grinding halt when he got nipped by homeowner Daniel Valladares.
It didn’t look as if the haunting is going to stop as Magsayo is facing a formidable foe when he battles former champion Rey Vargas this weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Vargas is no pushover and Magsayo’s tenure as WBC featherweight ruler is under serious threat.
If Magsayo suffers the same fate as the Ancajas and company, then Philippine boxing will be left without a current champion by the end to this week.
And that’s bad. Very bad.
You see, ever since Manny Pacquiao’s downfall against Yordenis Ugas almost a year ago in Las Vegas, Filipino boxers have been struggling in keeping themselves relevant.
Although there are a few worthy world title hopes like super-bantams Marlon Tapales and Mike Plania as well as minimumweight Melvin Jerusalem.
Of course, there’s four-division world champion Donnie Nietes, who is set to vie for a world title on 13 July in Japan.
But even if Nietes wins, his reign could be short-lived since he is already 40 years of age.
From the looks it, Philippine boxing has to string up big wins in the remainder of the year in a bid to revive its fortunes.
Nietes gets an opportunity to shine in less than ten days.
But focus is on Magsayo, who has a tough outing coming up.
Knowing Magsayo, he will have this in mind when he answers the bell this Sunday.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the boxing gods would treat him nicely this time.
