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Philippines, 23 Feb 2026 |
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Letter to the Editor: Was It Really A "Disgust"? PhilBoxing.com Wed, 15 Aug 2007  I knew there was something wrong when I passed by a newspaper stand and saw one of the headlines saying something like, "Team Philippines: 5-1". I wasn't excited. My senses were telling me something wasn't right about the said victory. And then I cried. Call me anything but please never dub Rey "Boom-Boom" Bautista as something like a "disgust" from among other boxers. I know I don't have the right to air my opinions because I am just barely 17, a typical female student of a university, and a Boholano, who just have the hobby of praising the blood from her province. I am no boxing expert though I am a great boxing fan. I am no Pacman fan but I am a great Boom-Boom freak. I know I don't have the right to curse Golden Boy Promotions for pushing through with that unimaginable fight or to curse ALA for being such a reckless handler or to curse, especially, PDL for almost killing my beloved boxing hero inside the ring. But for the sake of what I felt when I read the on-line articles about Bautista's misfortune, I think my respect and pride as a Rey aficionado and a Boholano is threatened to be hit below the belt. It's a crawling low-blow. Sorry for the term but I think it sucks. I want to shout to the top of my lungs and tell the whole world, "Was it really a "disgust"? Laugh to the top of your breaths but honestly, I did not dare watch the bout. Not because I am afraid to see the reality of my hero's downfall but because he deserved more from the media. Ironic, because I am a mass comm student, but I suddenly hated them (the media) for trying to ruin the image of the struggling Bautista. It's not that I don't want to embrace the fact that it was very disappointing, it's just that they're picking on the boy too much, they're pushing the boy too hard. I wished they should have just told him to accept all the punches and get killed only to reach a 12 round bout for the sake of the crowd. Boxing is dangerous and PDL was, for Boom-Boom. Now, tell me. Was it really disgusting to be knocked down too early in that stage? Was it really disgusting to compare Gerry Penalosa's win to his? Or would it be disgusting to pay tribute to a young Boholano boxing hero soaked in his own blood, turned into dead meat because Rey wanted to bring home the pride of a Filipino boxer and because the referee considered the onlookers efforts and money for that match? He is a just a kid. He wants to fight. And winning was part of it. But suddenly, the world turns its back because he didn't last a round for a main event? Because his chin betrayed him when everyone expected him to knock the man out? Because his team mates could smile to the tip of their teeth in camera flashes when he could not? Well, (sorry for the term) f*ck the world! Rey is not a hell of a commercial model who endorses pain killers and hard liquors and kiddie fast food chains. He's not a hell of an actor who tries to be funny in gag shows and sitcoms or who sings in weird microphone brands for a showbiz career. He's not a hell of a politician who tells everyone that his political opponents are scaring him to death. I'm sorry if Rey "Boom-Boom" Bautista is not a boxing hero or idol who sells his life story in tickets and movie screens. I'm sorry but he is not (sorry for the term) "F*ck Man". He is "Boom-Boom"! A child so naive yet so courageous, willing to take the risks of what is offered, what is left and what would be. A Boholano so humble yet so mighty to carve a name for his province and his country. A boxer so savage yet so fine at the taste of his brawl, his victory and his defeat. He might have been "disgustingly" slaughtered in the hands of the Mexican boxing butcher, Daniel Ponce De Leon, in a matter of two minutes and thirty seconds in the first lock of the cage. But I hope, I know and I will always believe for that young boy to explode until his next step on the ring. Lessons are learned the hard way because sparing the rod will spoil the child. So to Rey "Boom-Boom" Bautista, it's too early to become a champ, it's too early to wear a crown but it's not too late to create a bomb. Iris Cornito Bohol, Philippines  |
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