Philippines, 14 Feb 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Philippine Amateur Boxing: When Will We Learn?


PhilBoxing.com


Same old, same old.

The modern definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect different results. That's what happened to the Philippine boxing team at the AIBA World Championships.

Despite the full support of the Philippine Sports Commission (to the tune of P 1.5 million) and sponsors like Smart, why did only Harry Tanamor make it beyond the quarterfinals and earn a slot in the Beijing Olympics? The cold, hard truth is that the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines showed little regard for the boxers, whom we have been counting on for decades to bring us ouf first Olympic gold medal.

To begin with, the team arrived only two days before the competition, after surviving a 27-hour ordeal from Manila. Given the thirteen-hour time difference, the extreme cold and wind, the boxers would have a devil of a time acclimatizing. Other delegations arrived a week or two before the fights began. Tanamor was more successful because he drew a bye in the first round, and had more time to acclimatize.

When Silforbo Lopez fought Velibor Vidic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, his shorts kept falling down. They were extra large. Lopez is a medium. Filipinos in Chicago were appalled, and even offered to buy the whole team uniforms. They had already been feeding the boxers every day. How poor does that make the Philippines look?

Another reason Lopez cites for his early exit was the absence of a masseuse. In his last fight, his legs were getting stiff from cold. The team didn't have a nutritionist, either. Neither did it have a psychologist. Quietly, some of the boxers asked their countrymen here to buy them vitamins and supplements.

So what were the top officials of the sport doing? ABAP president Manny Lopez as earning a living by sitting as jury with an alleged potential income of thousands of dollars. ABAP secretary-general Roger Fortaleza was refereeing other bouts. And the boxers? Well, they were left to roam the venue, or hopped on the shuttle bus to the training facility on the other side of the University of Illinois-Chicago campus.

But perhaps most glaring was the lack of diplomacy or even common courtesy revealed itself when PSC chairman Butch Ramirez himself came to watch our boxers. ABAP did not help the chairman get accreditation. and he was thus forced to line up and buy tickets to get into the gym, until local Filipinos (many from the Filipino-American Police Association of Chicago) took care of it. They were livid. Ramirez was never met by ABAP officials (five Pinoy police officers met him at the airport and escorted him around).

Imagine, the person who approves all your funding, the official who head the national government sports program, the one who constantly supports your sport's training and overseas exposure, who shares the goal of winning our country's overdue first Olympic gold medal, and you can't even fill up a form for him to be able to freely enter the venue and cheer for our boxers? What does that say about the NSA's respect for authority? And yet, Ramirez, while he was there, made sure the boxers were fed and had a little extra to keep their spirits up.

Ramirez has vowed to review the ABAP's strategy and policies. Needless to say, he was incensed by the poor preparation, lack of coordination, and unwillingness to grant token assistance to the highest sports official in the land, upon whom their financial support rests.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Bill Velasco.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Fight Analysis: Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford – A Battle of Skill, Size, and Legacy
    By T. Chin-Te, , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • Mavs Sans Davis Get Past Warriors; LA Lakers Get Upset by Utah Jazz
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • Blow by Blow: Andales scores one-punch knockout
    , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • DUARTE VS. MADUEÑO MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES
    , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • Saludar in line for title shot
    By Joaquin Henson, , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • Press Conference Notes: Keyshawn Davis Set for Career-Defining World Title Shot Against Denys Berinchyk
    , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • IBA absolutely welcomes Imane Khelif’s intention on legal actions that would allow to reveal the gender test results
    , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • Top Rank Boxing Announces Twisted Tea as the Official Malt Beverage Partner for 2025
    , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • "Be a Master" Open Chess Tournament and Elementary Chess Challenge on February 16
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • Miguel “El Explosivo” Madueño Training Camp Notes
    , Thu, 13 Feb 2025
  • Top of the One World: Denys Berinchyk and Keyshawn Davis Face Off 100-Plus Stories Above NYC Ahead of Friday’s Lightweight Title Tussle
    , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • Matchroom Announces First Ever Canadian Show – In Association With Groupe Yvon Michel – As Rocky Hernandez and Rene Giron Clash on Feb 28 in Gatineau
    , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • Night of fireworks
    By Joaquin Henson, , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • Davis Faces Butler as Mavs Battle Warriors; Don't Sleep on the Sacramento Kings
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • AGM Bernardino impressed with local talents, lost 4 games in 1-day simul chess exhibition in Santo Tomas, Pangasinan
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • Denys Berinchyk vs. Keyshawn Davis Fight Week Events to Stream LIVE on Top Rank’s Social Media Channels
    , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • Paddy Donovan confident of defeating Lewis Crocker in All-Ireland fight March 1 in IBF World Welterweight Title eliminator in Belfast
    , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford: Experts and Trainers Weigh In on the Super Fight of 2025
    , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • MATCHROOM LAUNCHES NEW THREE-YEAR STREETGAMES PARTNERSHIP WITH HUGE GRASSROOTS CELEBRATION IN MANCHESTER
    , Wed, 12 Feb 2025
  • BELLOTTI: WHATEVER I BRING, HE WON'T BE READY FOR IT
    , Tue, 11 Feb 2025
  • Blow-By-Blow: Andales, Alicaba clash in Vigan
    , Tue, 11 Feb 2025
  • IBA CEO Chris Roberts OBE column: The Dance of Power and Vulnerability
    , Tue, 11 Feb 2025
  • Asian Boxing, OCA affirm alliance
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 11 Feb 2025
  • MANUEL “GUCCI MANNY” FLORES RETURNS AS MAIN EVENT FOR GOLDEN BOY FIGHT NIGHT ON DAZN
    , Tue, 11 Feb 2025
  • EUBC President Dr. Ioannis Filippatos clarifies the scientific impossibility of fair competition of transgenders within women’s sports
    , Tue, 11 Feb 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.