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GELLO-ANI: WORLD CUP HOSTING A BIG CHALLENGE FOR CEBUANOS By Emmanuel B. Villaruel PhilBoxing.com Fri, 11 May 2007  CEBU CITY -- Hosting the prestigious World Cup of Boxing here in the Queen City of the South is a very big challenge for the Cebuanos and that well-known international promoter Sammy Gello-ani believes it can only be achieved through the cooperation of all the sectors involved. Gello-ani said it may be safe for him to announce the World Cup is on, but the problem is that how to do it and source out funds needed to bankroll an event of such magnitude. In his conservative estimate, Gello-ani said at least US$2 million or roughly Php96 million is needed in staging the World Cup. “I can say the World Cup is on but how to do it is still hanging. Who will do it? Who will finance it? There are things that still have to be done,” Gello-ani said in a press conference this afternoon at the Grand Ballroom 1 of Cebu City Marriott Hotel. “We can assemble the card even just in one week but the big question is that are we capable of doing it? We have to go through different sectors to make it realistic,” added Gello-ani. Initial talks have it that the World Cup featuring the Philippines’ best fighters against their Mexican counterparts will be held here either late August or early September. But Gello-ani admitted the lack of a potential income-generating venue in Cebu opens up the possibility of the World Cup to be staged in Manila. “The concentration is in Manila because of the venue. We need to draw huge crowd to generate revenues,” said Gello-ani. “But i really want it to be done in Cebu. The plan is there but we have to work on it. We are about to reach that level. This is a challenge for us Cebuanos and I firmly believe that if we can unite, we can make it happen,” he added. In the next few weeks, Gello-ani said they will wait for the official word from Golden Boy Promotions executives led by their president Oscar de la Hoya, who is very eager and enthusiastic to come to Cebu, regarding their plans on the World Cup. Although Golden Boy has yet to give its final say on the matter, Gello-ani and the ALA Boxing Group got a major boost this early after Cebu City Councilor Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem assured the City government is committed to have the historic boxing show here. “We at the city government (of Cebu) will do everything it can to have the World Cup here in Cebu,” said Jakosalem, himself an avid boxing fan and supporter. Jakosalem said the City government is committed to host the World Cup largely due to the overwhelming success of the “Moment of Truth” card last February 24 at the Cebu City Sports Center. In the event the World Cup pushes through here, Gello-ani said they are keen on putting up at least three world title fights. A shoo-in for the main event is Boholano teenage sensation Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista against defending WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon. A rematch between Cebuano ring prodigy Z “The Dream” Gorres and WBO super flyweight title-holder Fernando Montiel is also being cooked up as well as Gerry Pe?alosa versus reigning WBO bantamweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez. Meanwhile, Michael P. Aldeguer, who is slowly taking over the mantle of his father Antonio “Bidoy” L. Aldeguer in running the famed ALA Boxing Gym, announced they are planning to branch out in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles in the next few years. Aldeguer said one of the main reasons that prodded them to put up sweat shops in Las Vegas and possibly in LA in the future is that their boxers oftentimes have difficulty in finding a suitable place to train while they are in the US. For his part, Gello-ani did not discount the possibility of the ALA Boxing Gym to hold its own promotions in Las Vegas once their bold plan come into fruition. “Everything is in place with regards to our plan to put up boxing gyms in Las Vegas and in LA. Who knows if we already have a gym in Las Vegas, we might as well have our own promotion in there. But it may take a year or two to realize that plan because we can’t rush it up,” said Gello-ani. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Emmanuel B. Villaruel.  |
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