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Glenn Gonzales Shines in Sparring with IBF Featherweight Champ Robert Guerrero By Manny Piñol PhilBoxing.com Tue, 10 Jun 2008  It all started with a simple request: "Please find a sparring mate for Glenn Gonzales." It was a request that I relayed to a Mexican trainer who works on young boys at the Salinas City Gym before I left for the Philippines. And it was a request he immediately worked on. "Yes, there is a guy in Gilroy who is looking for a sparring mate. He is tall and a southpaw," said the Mexican trainer, who is married to a Filipino told me. It was only the following day when I learned that the tall southpaw that he was referring to was the Gilroy City-based International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero. "What?" I asked my brother, Noli, who handles Glenn and bantamweight Jundy Maraon, along with Nonito Donaire, Sr., father of the world flyweight champion. But there was no time to back out and it was certainly embarrassing not to show up at the Guerrero Gym in Gilroy. And so, I was later told, Nonito Sr.and Noli brought Glenn to Gilroy. As a concerned manager, not to mention the fact that Glenn is my cousin, I asked both Noli and Nonito to advise Glenn not to slug it out with Guerrero, who is a known knockout puncher with a fearsome record of 22 wins, 15 by knockout, 1 loss and 1 draw. Not only is Guerrero fearsome because of his record, he also stands 5' 8" at 25 years of age with a reach as long as a spider's at 70. Compare that to Glenn who is only 22 with a record of 6 wins, 4 by knockout with 1 draw. Gonzales, who took a year off from the sport to undergo a bonegraft in his left hand, stands 5' 7" but he is still a full inch short of the IBF champion. I left the night before the sparring and as soon as the Philippine Airlines jet landed in Manila from San Francisco, the first thing I did was call up Noli to ask him about the sparring. "If he continues to move the way he moved against Guerrero, we will have a world champion," said my brother from the other end of the line half a world away. But I heard it loud and clear. Nonito Sr. said Glenn was faster and shiftier than the world champion in the sparring although he still needed to develop on his power. Of course, it is also presumed that the world champion may not have been in his best shape as he was just starting his preparation for a planned title reunification with the World Boxing Council champion in September. But the fact that Glenn was able to perform well against a feared featherweight is an indication of his potentials of becoming a top fighter in the division in the future. "A little more polishing and at least 10 more fights and we will be ready for the big time," said Nonito. Of course, we all understand that. You don't make a world champion out of a boxer who only has 7 professional fights to his name. He will have to go through a lot of tests. His first test has been arranged by Braveheart Boxing Club's boxing advisor, Cameron Dunkin, who has set Glenn for a 6-round fight on July 5 in the undercard of the Ricardo Torres-Kendall Holt WBO jr. welterweight champion at the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas promoted by Top Rank's Bob Arum, a full week after Manny Pacquiao fights David Diaz for the WBC lightweight crown. "We will guide him and make sure that he will realize his full potentials," said Dunkin, a veteran boxing manager who handles the careers of IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire, featherweight Stephen Luevano and the sensational Kelly Pavlik. "Bob Arum will be at ringside to see Glenn Gonzales' fight," said Dunkin, emphasizing the interest that little by little is being generated by the tall featherweight from M'lang, North Cotabato. Little by little. Slowly. After all, you do not rush when polishing a diamond in the rough. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Manny Piñol.  |
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