SACRAMENTO?In his four-year career as a super bantamweight, Rey ?Boom-Boom? Bautista had developed a nasty habit of beating up people, delivering 17 knockouts in his 21 wins.
But last night at the Arco Arena, in the prestigious World Cup of Boxing, the slugger from Candijay, Bohol saw and felt what it?s like on the other side.
And it wasn?t pretty. Just brutal and vicious. And painfully violent.
The sequence that led to the grim discovery started late in the first round, with just less than 30 seconds left in the WBO super bantamweight championship scheduled for 12 rounds.
Defending champion Juan Ponce de Leon had been stalking his young foe since the opening bell sounded. Having landed a few blows, but none seem to shake the 21-year-old challenger.
But Bautista got careless. He kept standing in front of the dangerous de Leon, eager to trade blows and settle the score punch for punch. The bravado proved fatal.
Behind a stiff, determined jab, de Leon caught Boom-Boom with a left straight. The damage was instant. And irreversible.
As soon as his chin cracked, Boom-Boom froze, before falling off the ropes near de Leon?s corner. Valiantly, he got up. But he was too dazed to hold off de Leon?s finishing barrage, absorbing more blows as the referee mercifully put an end to the fight.
It was hard to watch. Rey was overpowered by a more physical, more experienced champion.
?Unsaon man, naunhan man ko. Ingon ana man jud na ang boksing. Mangayo ko ug pasaylo ninyong tanan kay napakyas ko,? BoomBoom told me in a live interview at station dyAB an hour after his bitter loss. (What can I do, he did me in first. Boxing is always like that. I?d like to apologize to all of you for failing.)
Sad, indeed, is Boom-Boom?s fall from undefeated bliss. But he?s only 21, with the world still in front of him.
?Mobalik ko,? he vowed later at Denny?s restaurant, where Team Philippines was celebrating its 5-1 win of the prestigious World Cup. (I will be back.)
We?ll wait, Boom-Boom. We?ll wait.
Hopefully, the loss will make you a better man, a better fighter.
