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Philippines, 10 Feb 2026 |
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GREAT FILIPINO MATCH-UPS GAIN CHEERS AND JEERS By Carlos Bautista PhilBoxing.com Sun, 24 May 2009 ABS CBN's planned match up of top boxing prospects from the Braveheart Boxing Club of North Cotabato with the more popular fighters from the ALA Gym of Cebu City has literally stirred the hornet's nest gaining a flood of support from plain boxing fans to known boxing personalities and elicited a number of critical comments as well. Shortly after the story was posted on philboxing.com, a thread on the topic on the website's forum which expressed disapproval to the ABS CBN idea was immediately swarmed by more than 1,400 hits and earned some 100 replies from Paclanders worldwide. Those averse to the idea of an all-Filipino big card say that the bouts will effectively destroy budding boxing stars citing how Mindanao's rising bantamweight prospect Jundy "Pretty Boy" Maraon crushed World Boxing Organization Asia Pacific bantamweight champion Jason Igera in less than three rounds. The thread maker said that the defeat suffered by Igera, who hails from Negros Oriental, via a 3rd round knockout in the hands of the 5' 6" tall fighter from Molave, Zamboanga del Sur spelled the end of Igera's boxing career. But most of the postings made by the Paclanders, known for their hilarious, critical and oftentimes scathing commentaries, expressed strong approval of the match ups saying that if the Mexicans do it, Philippine boxing must also start local bouts which would screen the best boxers to be fielded for important fights internationally. Those in favor of the ABS CBN proposal said that the local match ups will be good for Filipino boxing fans and Philippine boxing, as a whole. They cited the example of Mexico where boxing stars like Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and others were engaged in hotly contested bouts against fellow Mexicans. Boxing personalities like Rex "Wakee" Salud, Sammy Gelloani, Bong Yap, Lito Mondejar and many more said that the match ups between the ALA boxers and the fighters from the Braveheart Boxing Club (BBC) of North Cotabato will be the biggest thing that will happen to local boxing. "Mabubuhay ang local boxing nyan," said the veteran Mondejar. He added that recent match ups between rising Filipino boxing talents and unknown foreigners which end up in lopsided victories for the local boys have been greatly criticized by local boxing fans. Filipino journalists like Recah Trinidad and a host of Cebu-based boxing writers also expressed excitement over the prospect of seeing the best of Cebu City going up against the rising stars of Mindanao boxing. "Tama 'yan. Matira ang matibay," said Recah Trinidad, who is known as a hard-hitting sportswriter. In the proposed match ups Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista (ALA Gym) will go up against WBO Interim Oriental bantamweight champion Rolando "Smooth Operator" Magbanua (BBC) at 122 lbs., Z "The Dream" Gorrez (ALA Gym) versus Jundy "Pretty Boy" Maraon (BBC) at 118 lbs., AJ "Bazooka" Banal (ALA Gym) against Glenn "The Rock" Porras (BBC) at 118 lbs., Milan Milendo (ALA Gym) versus Edrin "The Sting" Dapudong (BBC) at 108 lbs., WBO World Miniflyweight champion Donnie "Ahas" Nietes (ALA Gym) against Rommel "Little Assassin" Asenjo (BBC) at 105 lbs., and Czar Amonsot (ALA Gym) versus Zamboanga City's Rocky Marcial. North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Pinol, who owns the Braveheart Boxing Club along with his brothers, has agreed to the proposal presented by ABS CBN Vice President Peter Musngi, expressing excitement over the prospect of pitting his little known fighters against the more popular ALA boxers. There has been no official reaction, however, from the ALA Gym. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Bautista.  |
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