Manny Pacquiao remained the top gun of Philippine boxing this year, but for a change PacMan found himself sharing the spotlight with four other local boxers.
Flyweight Nonito Donaire, Jr., minimumweights Florante Condes and Donnie Nietes and ban?tamweight Gerry Pe?alosa emerged from Pacquiao?s huge shadow by winning versions of the world titles in their respective division. With four world champions to end the year, pro boxing in the country is definitely on a roll. A fifth world champ could be in the works if veteran Bert Batawang beats International Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight champion Ulises Solis on December 15 in Mexico.
Donaire, the ?Filipino Flash,? became the country?s first world champion since Brian Viloria lost the WBC light flyweight title in August 2006 when he upended the previously unbeaten Vic Darchinyan on July 7 for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight cham?pionship. A 7-to-1 underdog, Do?naire knocked the daylights out of Darchinyan with one thundering left hook to the jaw.
?He caught me with a very good shot,? admitted Darchinyan, who was making his seventh defense of the IBF title.
On the same day Donaire as?cended to the throne, Condes also pocketed the IBF minimumweight crown with a hard-earned decision over Muhammad Rachman in Jakarta, Indonesia. Dubbed the ?Little Pacquiao,? the granite-fisted Condes (22-3-1, 20 knockouts) floored Rachman twice in the fight to earn a razor-close split decision.
Donaire became the country?s first flyweight (112 pounds) champion since Malcolm Tunacao?s reign as WBC champ ended in 2001 while Condes followed in the footsteps of Joma Gamboa, who briefly held the WBA minimum?weight diadem in 2000.
Pe?alosa made it a triple cele?bration on August 12 by also landing the upset axe on Mexican Jhonny Gonzalez for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title. Pe?alosa?s victory came in dramatic fashion; he was trailing on two of three scorecards when he flattened Gonzalez with a de?bilitating left to the body in the seventh stanza.
Pe?alosa became a world champion for the second time in his 61st fight. The San Carlos City native last held the WBC super flyweight crown in 1998. At age 35, Pe?alosa became the oldest Filipino to win a world boxing champion.
?I can?t believe it,? said Pe?alosa. ?This is what I?ve been waiting for my whole life, to be a champion [again].?
Pe?alosa?s return to the title picture was one of the highlights of the World Boxing Cup tournament held in Sacramento, California, which saw the Philippines post a rousing 5-1 victory over rival Mexico.
Pe?alosa, Michael Domingo, Z Gorres, Diosdado Gabi and AJ Banal all defeated their Mexican opponents to give the country provisional possession of the World Cup trophy worth a reported $500,000. Prospect Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista was the lone casualty, getting bombed in one round by defending WBO junior featherweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon.
On September 30, Nietes joined Condes as minimumweight cham?pion by outpointing the previously unbeaten Pornsawan Krating?daenggym in Cebu for the WBO version of the crown. Nietes is 22-1 as a pro but arguably still has a lot to prove to gain acceptance as champion.
Not everything was rosy for Filipino boxers. On March 30, former WBC Youth flyweight titlist Lito Sisnorio, only 24 years old, lost his life after a grueling fourth round knockout defeat to former WBC flyweight champion Cha?tchai Sasakul.
Sisnorio started vomiting after the fight and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Doctors performed brain surgery but Sisnorio failed to pull through. It was later established that Sisnorio had no business fighting the battle-tested Sasakul as the Filipino had been brutally knocked out two months before by Thai Pongsalek Wonkongjam.
With boxing fans still reeling from the Sisnorio tragedy, lightweight Czar Amonsot had a close brush with death in a decision loss on July 21 to WBO Interim lightweight champion Michael Katsidis in Nevada. The 21-year-old Amonsot put up a game effort, rising from two knockdowns to mix it up with the Australian champion. The Filipino stayed on his feet until the last round but took some hard shots to the head.
After the fight, Amonsot under?went a medical procedure for a brain bleed. Amonsot survived the ordeal, but his ring future is definitely in doubt. Under Nevada rules, a fighter who has suffered a subdural hematoma, no matter how small, cannot be licensed in the state.
Pacquiao would finish the year with aplomb. In one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year, PacMan defeated Mexican fistic icon Marco Antonio Barrera on October 7 to retain the WBC International super featherweight championship. Pacquiao proved his win over Barrera four years ago was no fluke as he dominated the ?Baby-faced Assassin? in 12 rounds.
Pacquiao bankrolled $2 million for the Barrera fight, exclusive of his share in the pay-per-view revenues. The Filipino ring superstar also earned $2 million in his only other fight for the year?an eighth round knockout of Mexican Jorge Solis on April 14 in San Antonio, Texas.
To cap a relatively successful ring campaign, the country played host to the 45th annual convention of the WBC from November 11 to 17. The matters discussed ranged from proposed women?s title bouts to sanctioning fees restructuring. WBC president Jose Sulaiman also took the opportunity to convince Pacquiao to come into terms for a rematch with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao and Marquez will figure in the first big fight for 2008 when they clash March 15 for Marquez?s WBC super feather?weight championship.
