WHEN Omega Pro Sports International approached Robinsons Galleria for support of their Who?s Next boxing series, Joan Salazar had no hesitation in backing the event because of the stories she learned from Chad Ca?ares about the boxers.
And Chad, formerly of ALA Promotions, knows boxing and his boxers well. Like most behind-the-scenes men who truly love boxing, he doesn?t see boxers based on their wins and loss records, but their daily struggles to reach a simple dream ? to provide for their family.
After leaving ALA and before joining Omega Sports, Chad was busy training amateur boxers of his own up north in Bantayan and he once invited me and other sportswriters to take a look at his program there.
The guy, who owns a mean jump shot, knows his boxing and really loves the sport and you can readily tell the moment he talks about his boxers.
So it?s no surprise that like Robinsons Galleria, major sponsors like Regan King of Harley Davidson and Kenneth Tan of Hyundai were readily convinced to throw in their support.
Officially, Chad is the vice president of the outfit but the way I see it–and observed during last Friday?s launch at the new Robinsons Galleria–he?s the heart and soul of this new outfit.
When one question was addressed to Omega Pro Sports International?s president Pio Paulo Castillo, the young executive gamely said, ?I think Chad is better suited to answer that question.? And that shows the mark of a good leader, to know when to defer to the expertise of the people you hired.
In his talk, Pio credited his father Pio Castillo Jr., who started the Omega boxing stable in 1988, of prodding him to look for something new when he talked about change and the need to adopt to new trends in their company?s sales force.
There first move was to get the services of Chad, and showing how serious the young Castillo is, they also hired Cebu?s ace sports doctor, Dr. Rhoel Dejano.
Doc Roel, who regularly joins sports medicine symposium abroad and conducts his own here, is also the team doctor of Cesafi champions University of San Carlos and the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu.
Just like in the local basketball scene, he?s bringing new concepts and ideas to boxing, where he hopes things could be ?unlearned.?
And with Doc Dejano and Chad on board, I?m positive the boxing community will learn more of Omega Sports International in the coming months.
