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Philippines, 25 Nov 2024 |
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THE DREAM TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 25 Feb 2007 The nation's collective dream of crowning a new world boxing champion turned into a nightmare when a WBO appointed referee and judges robbed flashy southpaw Z "The Dream" Gorres of the WBO super flyweight crown despite his giving champion Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel a classic boxing lesson most of the way in their title fight at the Cebu City Sports Complex late Saturday. A crowd of some 30,000 fight fans sat stunned as Ted Lerner announced that Montiel had won by an unbelievable split decision with Raul Caiz scoring it 115-111 for Montiel, Chuck Giampa 114-112 and Danny Nelson having Gorres the winner by a comfortable 115-111 margin. Nelson's scoredcard would have been 117-111 if not for the fact that New York based Puerto Rican referee Samuel Viruet incredibly deducted two points from Gorres in the 10th and 12th rounds without the customary warning. Green said later "I scored it as I saw it. Gorres clearly won." Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today had Gorres winning eight of the first nine rounds and losing the last three for a 116-112 margin which was cut to 114-112 because of the two points deducted by referee Viruet. Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao who was at special ringside said he felt "very bad" for Gorres and criticized referee Viruet for "failing to first warn Gorres before deducting a point for a second infraction." The deductions came in the closing rounds when Montiel, frustrated all night long by the brilliant one-two combinations of Gorres and a stinging right straight plus superb ring craftsmanship, threw caution to the winds and launched a desperate attempt for a knockout. It was no consolation that WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel promised that Gorres, because of his excellent showing would retain the No.1 ranking and could possibly get another shot at bthe vacant title since Montiel who had some problems making the 115 pound limit may move up to the bantamweight division. To respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer who had put so much into staging a superb event titled "Moment of Truth" it was a painful loss not just for Gorres but for Philippine boxing which would have been given a major boost by a world title won by a decent, well behaved and disciplined fighter and a prime example to the youth. A disconsolate Gorres couldn't hold back the tears in his dressing room because he knew all the dedication, hard-work and sacrifices of the recent months and a dream he nurtured since his boyhood days of becoming a world champion had been denied him in a cruel fashion. The media, including a couple of foreign journalists were stunned by the decision and said they couldn't understand it. One veteran scribe said "we know of hometown decisions but this is the first time we have witnessed a fighter being robbed in his own home town. It must be the hispanic connection." Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez appeared bothered by the decision and the possible repurcussions in the Philippines for both Golden Boy which was a co-promoter with SGG Promotions and more especially the WBO which is trying to strengthen its presence in Asia under its Asia-Pacific vice president Leon Panoncillo. With former fighter Rey Caitom carrying a sign "For God and Country" a confident Gorres wearing the famous ALA Gym black trunks free of any crass commercialism entered the ring and after the formalities quickly established himself catching Montiel with a cracking right and ending the round with a one-two combination. Bewildered by the hand speed and skill of Gorres, Montiel spat out his mouthpiece after a solid body shot by Gorres and was warned by referee Viruet which is something he didn't do in the case of Gorres. Gorres continued to control the fight until Montiel fought back in round seven with some stinging body shots. But Gorres beat Montiel to the punch in round eight and then snapped the champion's head back in the ninth before staggering him with a classic right hook. In the tenth round Montiel kept up the pressure on Gorres who unnecessarily began to engage the Mexican at close range and was clearly hurt by a hard right. Montiel pressed the action in the last two rounds but in the twelfth when Gorres was once again hurt he was deducted a point for holding which in the end helped deny him of victory. The enthusiasm was sapped out of the huge crowd after the decision and even though fan favorite and emerging ring sensation Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista made it a bitter-sweet night with a third round demolition of Marino Gonzalez, the hurt felt by the Gorres loss lingered long into the night as fight fans milled around the world class set-up which proved the Philippines can stand with the best in the rest of the world. In fact WBO and Golden Boy officials praised Filipino fans who didnt show their displeasure over the Gorres robbery by any acts of resentment and in fact gave Montiel a polite round of applause as he walked to his dr4ssing room. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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