HE’S supposed to fascinate.
He nearly succeeded in putting the whole stadium to sleep.
He’s fancied to knock out his foe cold.
He sent frustrated fans leaving and calling it a night with still three good fights left in the stellar card.
The young, promising boxer has fought big bouts, has been sent to the best of the best training centers in the United States, Roach and McGirt, to name only two.
On Saturday night at the cool, renovated San Andres Coliseum, posted up as a gala for boxing, Z “The Dream” Gorres was received with cheers by expectant countrymen.
Sorry, he failed to deliver the promise.
Gorres instead turned into a budding nightmare.
* * *
That’s far from fascinating.
If to an acclaimed pianist, he bungled his first homecoming concerto.
Truth is our main man was supposed to be (only) sharpening his knives before going for the Orient, and then the world crown.
Gorres, lean and luminous, did appear ready for the world in the tense and tight opening round. In fact, in the second round, he lurked like a full-sized marvel and toppled his Thai foe with an overhand left to the head.
The crowd roared, fans got up and thumped their happy feet. They were now ready for the main dish.
* * *
But bugles and drums suddenly turned mute and silent.
What would follow, in the next eight rounds, was an inexplicable display of the dullest boxing by someone trumpeted as the next big star.
It would’ve been great if the Thai had not bothered to get up, and just stayed down for the count before collecting his $1,500 purse.
We would’ve been celebrating the arrival of Z Gorres today.
Sorry, the Thai refused to be shamed and tagged as a chef or tuk-tuk driver.
By standing his ground, the slow and predictable stranger succeeded in exposing the soft ends of the up-and-coming Pinoy celebrity.
Snorted North Cotabato Gov. Manny Pi?ol, a fighter who has seen enough bouts to know the difference between a duel and a lullaby: “He’s got the right name, the Big Z, he’s a certified sleeping pill.”
* * *
It would’ve been understandable if the Thai had himself proved complicated.
But the slow visitor was an easy target, almost accommodating in his flat daring.
Gorres, moving in and out with tentative combinations, proved to be a dud as he refused to dig in and go for the kill.
It was a long, lonely night for fans but Gorres just waited and coasted along, a lazy sea vessel waiting to dock.
Of course, he was declared winner by unanimous decision.
However, Gorres would be unfair if he had given himself a passing grade for his performance on Saturday. He did not look even half ready for the Orient title.
* * *
Repeat: the Thai was hardly a puzzle.
But Gorres appeared as though he was wrestling with a bigger inner problem.
The feeling among the majority inside the refurbished venue was one of great disappointment.
They were to blame for having pinned great hopes on him?
Maybe, but Gorres had himself sworn he could go for either the Orient or world crown any day given the chance.
Technically, the problem, other than the absence of necessary fierceness, was a weak stance.
Gorres’ legs were spread too wide apart, a flaw that his trainers in the US must’ve tried but failed to correct.
That posture would’ve been perfect if he were out on the tennis court returning a booming serve. But inside the ring, his lower limbs could not serve their full purpose as apt launching pads for big punches, the so-called bombs.
* * *
Did he again box sick?
Last time he lost, to Edgar Rodrigo in a title bout at the Makati Coliseum, Gorres was later found to be suffering from infected gums, which had induced on-fight fever.
Well, there has been no established alibi behind the Saturday lullaby in San Andres. But then, why did his handlers allow Gorres to push his punches instead of flick them?
You push or shake someone you wanted to rouse or wake up. You hit, sharply with a cobra-bite snap, the opponent inside the boxing ring.
Instead of a sure spear, Gorres appeared to have wielded a dull, uneven old hammer.
The bigger horror was that he was not connecting his punches properly.
Maybe Gorres felt he was indeed throwing his punches with all might. Truth was that he appeared as though he was kindly knocking at the door whenever he would hit his opponent.
The door to triumph and stardom can be opened only with ripping scientific fierceness.
The Gorres rap on the door on Saturday brought about a native lullaby. He earned P150,000 for it.
