A MIXTURE of accomplishments and disappointments greeted the opening of the 45th Annual World Boxing Council (WBC) convention yesterday at the Manila Hotel.
In general, the opening ceremony was considered by most of the foreign attendees a success as no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo graced the affair, an annual gathering of top boxing personalities from around the globe.
The Games and Amusement Board (GAB) headed by chairman Eric Buhain is the lead government agency of the annual conclave which is being held in the country for only the third time.
?We?re very happy the President came and it made this opening festivities truly an enjoyable one. I just hope all our guests will enjoy their whole stay in the country,? said Buhain.
Mrs. Arroyo was conferred the WBC championship belt, only the seventh person to be given the award since the organization?s inception nearly three decades ago. Other well-known personalities who were given the honorary title were former presidents Ronald Reagan of the United States, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Carlos Menem of Argentina, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Stjepan Mesic of Croatia and the late Pope John Paul II.
Also present during the affair was the country?s current boxing superstar, Manny Pacquiao, who came wearing a black blazer, dark blue denim pants and leather shoes. Pacquiao delivered his own speech for the event.
?We are honored by the presence of the President of the Philippines. Your country is the cathedral of boxing,? Jose Sulaiman, WBC president, told the BusinessMirror. ?It is just proper that a boxing school is established in the Philippines led by Pacquiao.?
Meanwhile, respected local boxing personalities expressed their disappointment with the way the country?s renowned boxers, past and present, were treated as well as the presentation of the opening ceremonies came about.
?Only a few came but all of them were simply allowed to enter and from there they were all by themselves. They want to cooperate but they do not know what to do once they were inside the area,? said a local matchmaker who requested anonymity. ?We should use this opportunity to show the world how proud we are even with our past champions.?
One glaring blunder was the failure of the event to recognize the presence of past and current champions namely former WBC world junior lightweight champions Rene Barrientos and Rolando Navarette along with current bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa, also a former WBC super-flyweight ruler, and world minimumweight kingpin Donnie Nietes.
What was even insulting for observers was when the supposed presence of former WBC flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam that morning was announced when in fact the Thai fighter was scheduled to arrive only last night. Ironically, it was Wonjongkam who dealt deceased Filipino boxer Lito Sisnorio the fatal blows during their mismatch held in Thailand last March.
A Filipino international promoter could not believe seeing the ID of Pe?alosa which simply stated ?boxer.?
?He is a living legend for becoming a two-time world champion. A great influence to the youth of today but I think his accomplishments were ignored at least for this morning?s event,? said the promoter.
BusinessMirror also learned that Filipino world-ranked fighter Diosdado ?The Prince? Gabi excitedly came to be part of the festivities and even paid a no-show fee of $100 for his scheduled US trip last Sunday which he rescheduled to a later date. Gabi, who is set to train and fight in the US, was also given the brush-off.
The same promoter could only cringe in his seat after seeing Filipina flag bearers during the event wearing skimpy attires.
?First of all they are flag bearers. We Filipinos are very respectful of our flag and for them to wear that kind of attire, I guess we are now telling the world that it?s okay to wave our flag wearing miniskirts,? said the promoter.
If ever, the arrival of two universally recognized legendary boxing champions gave a tinge of glitter in the event. Former world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine and former three-time champion Jeff Fenech of Australia came and stated their enjoyment in their current stay.
?I like it here. I like the weather because in Ukraine it is freezing cold,? said Klitschko in a separate interview with the BusinessMirror.
Asked about the country?s potentials as a haven for big-time boxing events, Klitschko gave his thumbs up about the possibility.
?Remember Thrilla in Manila was held here. You can not do just two or three more Thrilla in Manila events. You do more events like that here because you have the boxing talent to compete against the rest of the world,? said Klitschko who once tried but fell short in his attempt to become mayor of Kiev, his hometown and capital of Ukraine.
The country hosted in 1975 the classic ?Thrilla in Manila? boxing card held at the Araneta Coliseum featuring the world heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
The still talked about brutal battle held at the Araneta Coliseum capped their historic trilogy with Ali winning the third fight via 14th-round technical knockout.
Today the WBC convention shifts to higher gear with the staging of the General Assembly Meeting, where all regional leaders of the organization will convene and discuss pertinent boxing matters.
Also scheduled is the WBC Poker Tournament to be held at the Casino Filipino in Para?aque City.
Larios picks Guzman as toughest Pacquiao foe
IN yet another surprising twist in the Manny Pacquiao saga, former foe Oscar Larios of Mexico startlingly picked a non-Mexican capable of giving the Filipino superstar a good fight.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Larios said undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-featherweight champion Joan Guzman has the skills to give Pacquiao a hard time inside the ring.
?Guzman is strong and has the speed. He is also tough. That will be a good fight,? said Larios through an interpreter.
Larios was actually asked by the BusinessMirror who between his compatriots Juan Manuel Marquez, the WBC super-featherweight champion, and world title challenger Humberto Soto.
The 31-year-old Guzman (27-0, 17 knockouts) is scheduled to defend his title against Soto on November 17 at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Larios, however, said it is imperative for Pacquiao to battle Marquez which he feels is the fight the fans want to see. Larios is also attending the WBC convention.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, remained mum on who his next foe will be. He was also present in yesterday?s opening of the WBC convention.
Meanwhile, WBC president Jose Sulaiman gave what he termed as an ?advice from a friend?.
?Fight for a world crown. Regardless of any organization, you must fight not only for money but for a championship,? said Sulaiman.
Sulaiman said people remembers world champions whose names are written in history books of prestigious organizations.
?If his name will not be part of records, then how can people 15, 20 years from remember him,? said Sulaiman.
Pacquiao?s American promoters Top Rank Inc. and Golden Boy Promotions have scheduled a March 15 playdate with HBO for the Filipino boxing phenom.
GBP, owned by boxing superstar Oscar Dela Hoya is adamant Marquez is what people want to be Pacquiao?s next foe. Top Rank meanwhile said it will all depend on who Pacquiao wants to meet next.
