BOXING is a purely masculine activity and it inhabits a purely masculine world. Which is not to suggest that most men are defined by it: clearly, most men are not. And though there are female boxers?a fact that seems to surprise, alarm, amuse-women?s role in the sport has always been extremely marginal?Boxing is for men, and is about men, and is men. A celebration of the lost religion of masculinity all the more trenchant for its being lost.?Joyce Carol Oates ?On Boxing?
Call me a male chauvinist pig. Sexist. Old-fashioned. A hypocrite. Whatever. I don?t care, but I?ll probably never be a fan of women?s boxing.
Last Sunday, while I was at the Cebu Coliseum for ?Daytime Boxing? I found an unexpected cure for my hangover when I saw Thai female boxer Usanakorn Kokeitgym pummel the living daylights out of our very own Geremie Tabastabas.
The sight of blood never repulsed me before, but this time after seeing it gush out of Geremie?s winsome face, I began squirming uncomfortably in my chair.
I began sweating profusely and before I knew it, I realized my throbbing headache was gone. It was however replaced by undulating nausea. I thought I would pass out before Geremie did.
MISMATCH. The fact that it was a physical mismatch all the more made it more difficult to stomach. The Thai was taller, stronger, better-skilled and appeared more masculine than the overmatched Filipina.
Don?t get me wrong. I?m all for gender equality in fight sports. That is, except for boxing. I realize that at the end of the day both sexes have the equal right to pursue a punch-for-pay career. And I respect that. But getting me to buy a ticket?well, that?s another story.
E-MAILS. Last Rounder Rey Vasquez shot me an e-mail hoping to be enlighted about his favorite ALA gym fighters:
1.) What happened to AJ Banal now after his KO loss to Concepcion ? I hope he recovers from that loss and Team ALA could make some adjustments/improvements. My observation is that ALA boxers have this common endurance problem. They don?t last up to the final rounds. I remember Donnie Nietes almost failed to capture the belt against that Thai boxer last year.
Well Rey, the latest news reports indicate that AJ Banal is keen on avenging his loss to Concepcion after the latter lost by stoppage to Mexican powerhouse Jorge Arce.
During our press conference before Boom-boom Bautista?s latest fight , I actually raised that point on endurance problems to Michael Aldeguer. He acknowledged that they do value all your inputs and they are looking into that aspect of their training regimen.
2.) Boom Boom?s last fight was quite impressive but still showing scary moments during the early rounds where he almost got tagged by the Mexican boxer. I think ALA needs to hone further his defensive skills. They should send him to the US rather than train in Cebu like what happened to the Pacman when he started training in US.
To me Boom-Boom will never be a slick defensive fighter in the mold of a Gerry Penalosa. With that in mind, they should just concentrate on honing his positive qualities. A little head movement and better footwork would probably do Bautista a lot of good. It would prevent him from being a stationary target and give him punching angles so he can unleash his powerful combinations.
I also agree with you that exposure to more fighters and styles in the US will help a lot. Thanks for your e-mail.
Last Rounder Franklin Mercado has a request from this writer on the Pacquiao-de la Hoya event:
Hi, last rounder man! I?d like very much to hear your honest opinion on the richest fight in the history of boxing. I am very aware of that huge weight disparity and therefore I sincerely hope nobody gets seriously hurt during the fight. Whenever possible, please do it on a part 1 and part two on the sports talk section. I?d be looking forward to this one. All I can say is that this could be a ?mismatch.?
I?ve been meaning to write about this topic that?s so hot among boxing forums and circles and I will do so in my next column.
LAST ROUND. It?s on my boss, Atty. Francis Zosa and my father-in-law former Surigao Vice-Governor Rodolfo ?Ompong? Navarro who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!
