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Philippines, 21 May 2024 |
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WHAT THE WEIGH-IN SHOWED By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 14 Feb 2010  The "Pinoy Power III/Latin Fury 13" official weigh-in at the Shimmer Room of the Las Vegas Hilton showed a number of interesting facets of the fight game as it is today. The huge crowd that forced the hosts to raise an automatic divider that opened up into the casino itself showed just how much of a draw the Filipino and Latino fighters are and how passionate their supporters could be. Several Filipino families turned up with parents dragging their kids along and having them pose with the fighters as well as the ABS-CBN coverage tandem of the well-known and popular Dyan Castillejo and this reporter. Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire elicited rounds of applause along with veteran former two-division world champion Gerry Penalosa even as the fans chanted their names as they posed for the cameras after they had stepped off the scales. While Donaire had a faint smile on his face and pointed at people he recognized in the crowd and even guided his last-minute substitute opponent Manuel "Chango" Vargas where to look at the cameras, it was clear to us that Donaire's face was gaunt and tired-looking after a last minute struggle to make the weight. The picture was very much the same or perhaps even more pronounced when Ciso "Kid Terrible" Morales and WBO bantamweight champion Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel stepped on the scales with Montiel having to take a second try as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer felt the champion was a fraction over the limit. But Montiel made it after a few anxious seconds. The smiling, full-faced Montiel of the Wednesday press conference had turned into a much more haggard-looking fighter with his face reflecting the agony of losing six pounds in 48 hours. But if Montiel looked bad, Morales looked worse. Even the boyish smile etched across his face couldn't mask the sunken cheekbones which were apparently the result of having to starve himself for over a week. It turns out, the smile was a reflection of his looking forward to being able to eat right after the weigh-in which is what he did on food, juice and water prepared by his promoter Sammy Gello-ani and trainer Nonito Donaire Sr. Morales told us he'd be strong and ready to fight and even knock out Montiel who also agonized over his weight. Morales, the undefeated youngster with a record of 14-0 with 8 knockouts may be a match for a drained out Montiel in the ring but he was taking a bad beating with the sports book as a $100 wager on the Filipino on the eve of the weigh-in would provide a return of $850 which prompted some die hard Filipino fight fans to gamble on the kid. However, after people noticed Montiel's condition and learned of his struggle to make the weight the odds dropped with a $100 bet earning $650 although it still made Morales a huge underdog. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who put together the exciting fight card which will showcase the top four pay-per-view fights over the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN Channel 2 in the Philippines said "in boxing the one thing I really dont completely understand is why fighters look to fight at the lowest possible weight that they can make. Because if they fought at a more natural weight it would be best." Arum added, "they starve themselves to get there because they think they are fighting a smaller guy." In fairness to Donaire he wants to move up to a weight where he is comfortable and doesn't have to go through the wringer to make weight. The WBA super flyweight interim champion said "I told my manager Cameron Dunkin that this is enough for me. I want to move up in weight and I want to be the best that I can and I want to follow the blueprint I have in mind which is Manny Pacquiao's blueprint." The sight of gaunt-faced and starving fighters raised serious questions about the obvious effects of dieting on the overall health of fighters who need to replenish what they lose in rigorous training regimens but because of weight problems, cannot. After Pacquiao, the "Fighter of the Decade" realized he had problems making the 130 pound limit in his rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez which he won by the narrowest of margins he immediately decided to move up to 135 and hammered David Diaz into submission in nine rounds. Since then Pacquiao has carried his weight extremely well and in the process has strung together a series of devastating performances all the way to the welterweight limit of 147 pounds where he now reigns as WBO champion after a spectacular 12th round TKO victory over Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao trains relentlessly in the Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach but enjoys the luxury of eating just about anything he wants to five times a day although conditioning expert Alex Ariza keeps a close eye on what Pacquiao eats and his longtime friends "Buboy" Fernandez and Nonoy Neri prepare the nutritious Filipino food he loves. In telling contrast to the pictures of Donaire, Morales and Montiel, featherweight contender Bernabe Concepion and his dangerous opponent, southpaw Mario Santiago as well as two former world champions Gerry Penalosa and Eric Morel had no problems at all and looked full in the face, comfortable and confident. Welterweight Mark Jason Melligen who knows he has to redeem himself from his disappointing split decision loss to Michel Rosales in his last fight and his undefeated opponent Raymond Gatica looked fit and strong as they posed for the cameras after making the 147 pound limit. Top photo: The gaunt-looking faces of Ciso Morales (L) of the Philippines and Fernando Montiel of Mexico exemplify the struggles experienced by the boxers in order to make weight during yesterday's official weighin of the Pinoy Power 3 / Latin Fury 13 card at the Las Vegas Hilton. Photo by Dr Ed de la Vega. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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