WHEN ALA Promotions came up with the idea to put up a professional boxing series a little over half a decade ago, it was not sure whether such will be embraced by the Filipino crowd. It did know, however, that with proper organization and push, the product it was offering had a lot of promise in it.
World Boxing Organization light flyweight champion Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes (R) in action at ?Pinoy Pride 30? — Alvin S. Go Six years since its first boxing fare, that featured hometown bet AJ ?Bazooka? Banal versus Nicaraguan Luis Alberto Perez, the ?Pinoy Pride? series has become one of the more anticipated local boxing events in town with bigger things still in store, organizers say, moving forward.
Recently, Pinoy Pride held a landmark event with its 30th edition, dubbed ?D-Day.? The boxing spectacle, held on March 28 at the historic Araneta Coliseum, was considered the biggest to date in the series? history as it featured two of Philippine boxing?s brightest champions in light flyweight Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes and bantamweight Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire in separate matches.
The two fighters did not disappoint as they hacked out impressive technical knockout victories with 34-year-old Nietes stopping Mexican Gilberto Parra in the ninth round to retain his World Boxing Organization title and 32-year-old Donaire making short work of Brazilian William Prado in two rounds to win the vacant North America Boxing Federation super bantamweight title.
Holding their 30th Pinoy Pride offering carried with it much significance, ALA Promotions President and Chief Executive Officer Michael P. Aldeguer said.
?It?s very significant because it?s a testament to how far the series has gone. When we started five years ago, we did not know if we would be able to sustain it but here we are on our 30th event,? Mr. Aldeguer told BusinessWorld in an interview in the run-up to Pinoy Pride 30.
And such observation was shared by noted boxing analyst and radio personality Dennis Principe.
?Pinoy Pride 30 is a momentous event. For it to reach this far, it says a lot about the program that ALA has started… It is really good for boxing in general,? Mr. Principe said in a separate interview.
?And you can see that it is set to get bigger as the fight cards are continuously getting better and the quality of fighters that ALA has been producing has been improving. ALA has shown as well that we could stage world-class boxing events like this one,? he continued.
PANNING OUT WELL Seeing how Pinoy Pride is being received positively on various fronts, Mr. Aldeguer said they are very happy with the way things are panning out for it.
?We are very happy indeed. Through [Pinoy Pride] we are able to showcase the best in Philippine boxing and break new grounds along the way,? he said.
But he was quick to point out that ALA Promotions could not have done it alone. Mr. Aldeguer particularly underscored their partnership with giant television network ABS-CBN as very key.
?ABS-CBN is a valuable partner for us. It shares the same vision that we have for Philippine boxing. And with their help we get to realize and share our goals to more people,? he said.
Mr. Aldeguer also shared that the success that Pinoy Pride is having has redounded well on ALA Promotions.
?It has been huge. We always thought, fighters come and go. But the question has always been how to make more people appreciate the sport. And when they talk about Pinoy Pride they think of ALA and ABS-CBN and we are happy with that,? he said.
?Also, with the success of the series ALA has proven itself to be capable of staging such big and quality events. That we can do it here as well.?
Moving forward, Mr. Aldeguer said they are preparing bigger things for the Pinoy Pride boxing series.
?We are going to do an event in June in Dubai. We are doing the mandatory fight for Nietes in Cebu in July,? he said.
Finally securing a permit to do so, they are also preparing for a possible first foray in the United States in June, and another one after that, Mr. Aldeguer added.
