IN OUR last piece here, we rued the Filipino fans’ singular fascination with Manny Pacquiao almost to the exclusion of other local boxers deserving of attention if not respect for their ring exploits.
While Manny undoubtedly deserves all the accolades he has been reaping, there are those who not only deserve, but need the support of the public. It is when they are on the way up when moral support is crucial to prop up a campaign.
Z Gorres, Gerry Pe?alosa and Nonito Donaire Jr. are all scheduled to go into important fights that the rest of the boxing world is looking at.
Pe?alosa has been penciled to defend his WBO Bantamweight title against former champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin of Thailand on March 2 while Donaire will make his second defense of his IBF/IBO flyweight crown of April 4 against Hussein Hussein in Dubai.
But right around the corner is a “Now or Never” affair that packs all the drama and action of an FPJ movie. Z Gorres, the hard-luck, talented boxer from Mandaue, Cebu once again attempts to get a crack at a world crown as he goes up in a title-eliminator against ex-champ Vic “the Raging Bull” Darchinyan of Australia.
Darchinyan is the same hard-hitting slugger who tasted his first defeat at the hands of the “Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire Jr. last July when he succumbed to the well-prepared challenger. He lunged onto the canvass face-first after getting whacked by a ferocious left hook to the kisser from the Fil-Am born in Bohol, raised in General Santos City and who now resides in San Leandro, California.
“Dodong” Donaire, father of the fighting Donaires, insists that blow was not a Sunday punch. It was a well-planned move that he, his eldest son Glenn (who quit against Darchinyan, after having his jaw broken) and even Diosdado Gabi, another Darchinyan victim, practiced with Jun-Jun (Nonito Jr.’s nickname) hundreds of times.
Gorres, whom many thought had won the WBO championship against champion Fernando Montiel in Cebu last year, save for a curious split decision, feels his time is now. He is not the power-puncher that Darchinyan is, but he is a smart, tactical fighter who can score points and when the opportunity presents itself, can also unleash a powerful knockout punch.
While many have been downplaying Gorres’ knock-out punching ability, his record of 15 KO’s in 27 wins (a 55% clip) presents a totally different picture.
In a talk with Michael Aldeguer (scion to respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer and now Gorres’ registered manager), I learned that Gorres is working on several things which their team thinks may have been their undoing in the Montiel fight.
“Z sometimes has a tendency to get rattled when hit by a solid punch. It happened against Montiel where he was dominating the fight until round 10 when he got hit by a big one. We’re also working on his stamina, so he’ll have plenty left even after the final bell rings,” said the young and dapper Aldeguer.
Gorres, who has been under the Aldeguer wing since he was a 9 year-old tagging along to the ALA gym with an elder brother, is one of those who got the opportunity to train at the Wild Card gym in California where Manny Pacquiao himself hones his skills.
He has won his four stateside assignments, and since an early loss in his career in 2003, had not tasted defeat until that fateful night against Montiel. He has since disposed of former champion Eric Ortiz of Mexico, and has been training since October last year. He was supposed to have a tune-up fight late last year, and when that fell through, he immediately grabbed the opportunity for this eliminator against Darchinyan.
The road is not strewn with roses (some thorns, maybe) for Z Gorres, but he is well-prepared, determined and Michael Aldeguer says “has never been in better shape”.
And that is the only way to be against the dangerous Darchinyan. The fight will be held this Saturday at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu and will be televised by Solar Sports and ABC-5.
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Television producer Perry Pimentel and former PBA Legal Counsel Atty. Melvin Mendoza are calling on all their fellow Christ the King College of La Union alumni. You will be having your annual alumni homecoming on Feb. 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the La Union campus.
All alumni are requested to attend. Please contact the Directress, Sis. Teresa Lara (0728882410) or Bauang Mayor Bobby de Guzman, CKC Alumni president for details.
