When you do a television boxing show, you cover as many fights as possible to find some gems that will excite your weekend audience.
For a decade now, In This Corner (every Sunday at 7 p.m., NBN 4), has hopped around the country towing crew, TV equipment, boxers and a utility staff to stage fights in town plazas and multipurpose centers.
There are thrilling four-rounders with pro debutants throwing haymakers wildly and wondering who convinced them in the first place to try boxing.
The four-rounder is either a delightful baptism or a nightmare of a decision. The brave ones live on to fight another day while the unconvinced think of other ways to make a living.
There are eight- and 10-round fights that could be loaded with action or are as boring as a lifeless swing between two dance partners that do not know each other. These are the stepping stones, though, for those looking for fights in Bangkok, Jakarta or even the outskirts of the Las Vegas strip.
Fight careers become clearly defined here: They either move on or become a memory of a valiant try gone astray.
And then there are the big, action-packed slam-bang affairs like an eliminator or a Philippine championship.
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On a hot and humid night in Bi?an?s town plaza last Saturday, super bantamweights Sonny Gonzales and hometown boxer Jhunriel Ramonal gave everything they had for a vacant Philippine title and thrilled the audience with an unforgettable duel.
The fight began on a depressing note, though. In Round 1, Gonzales, 25 years old with 17 wins, 12 losses and four draws, slammed into the 21-year-old Ramonal?s forehead, leaving a wound that resembled a small island. Blood flowed profusely but Dr. Redentar Viernes allowed the fight to proceed.
Even without the medicine that cutmen use to seal up wounds temporarily, Ramonal?s corner managed the damage well. They unleashed into Round 2, a wounded warrior who punished his opponent with a lethal left hand that jabbed, hooked and zeroed in on the chin with a sneaky uppercut.
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Ramonal is a decent KO artist with six KOs in his 10 wins to date and knows how to use power from both fists.
Ramonal?s crisp punches landed squarely on Gonzales, jolting him repeatedly over the next nine rounds. Give Gonzales credit, though, for staying on his feet until the end, despite looking ripe for the fall on several occasions.
It was clear Gonzales also wanted the crown and was just as eager as Ramonal to make this fight a career-defining moment.
The two fighters were clearly fagged out in the end, with Gonzales slipping twice in the 10th. As early as the fifth round, both pushed and pulled and subsequently fell to the canvas like two mixed martial arts warriors slugging away on the way down.
In the 11th, Ramonal?s wounds were beyond management and the doctor recommended stopping the fight.
Ramonal won the title with judges Epie Almeda, Ricardo Canlas and Narciso Martinez all giving the nod with identical 106-101 counts.
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You may ask, are these fighters on the way to the big time after that fiesta of fists last Saturday? Are they the real deal, following in the footsteps of Manny Pacquiao and other Filipino champions?
It?s hard to tell, with tons of intangibles and intervening variables that could either steer or alter the career paths of these two weekend boxers. For now, they?re cooling their heels, allowing their wounds and battered bodies to heal.
They?re hopeful, of course, that their handlers will be on the phones this week, looking for their next fight. A big one somewhere out there would be great although another one in a town plaza wouldn?t be so bad.
