Bangkok ? Score the first round for Thailand?s defending world bantamweight champion Pungluang Sor Singyu, who faces mandatory Filipino challenger Marlon Tapales this Wednesday afternoon in the neighboring ancient capital city of Ayutthaya.
One Songchai, the promotional outfit staging the World Boxing Organization (WBO) 118-lb showdown at the Ayutthaya City Park, did not provide Team Tapales a service vehicle that will be used to ferry them to and from the morning workout.
Without one, Tapales? chief handler Wakee Salud had to tap a long-time Thai friend, Narong Hertrakul, to lend a hand in some legworks.
?We have no choice but to get a taxi that will serve as our service vehicle,? said a visibly irked Salud, who only got pissed when the promoter asked that Tapales be driven to a city that is about two hours from city center for an interview.
?Looks like they want to mess us up,? said Salud, who has produced three world champions in brothers Dodie Boy and Gerry Penalosa and Malcolm Tu?acao.
Tapales didn?t seem unaffected at all but the Lanao del Norte native just kept it to himself, one of his trainers said, stressing that the Cebu-based southpaw can?t wait to make the Thais pay dearly.
To make matters worse, a copy of the daily schedule leading up to the fight hadn?t even been produced.
Even the exact time of the weigh-in has yet to be relayed to Tapales, who is making his first shot at a world title.
?These are things that can make a huge difference in our bid,? added Salud.
Tapales and his team arrived here Sunday morning although they were originally set to plane in much earlier as they missed their connecting flight from Manila after a screw-up from their point of origin in Cebu City.
