Nonito Donaire’s execution of Reymart Gaballo over the weekend made me do this piece.
I went around and asked a few friends to share their views on why the majority of fighters prefer getting hit with head shots instead of getting struck on the liver area, abdomen or ribcage.
The guys I contacted included two former world champions, a two-time world title challenger and an Asian Games bronze medalist.
They knew what I was up to when I asked them about body punching.
Obviously, they knew I was in awe of what Donaire, almost 40 years old, did to a young and hungry lion like Gaballo.
Like me, they were also impressed by that sensational fourth-round knockout win that enabled Donaire to keep a stranglehold on the World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight strap.
Gerry Peñalosa, formerly the WBC super-fly and World Boxing Organization bantam titlist, ex-WBC fly king Malcolm Tunacao, Edito “Ala” Villamo and 1986 Seoul Asian Games bronze medal winner Brix Flores agreed on one thing.
The perfectly-placed body shot could maim even the fittest of fighters and would surely send someone who didn’t train well crumbling to the floor.
“When you get hit there, you won’t be able to control your actions. Even if you pretend that the shot didn’t hurt you, you won’t be able to because of the pain. It’s very hard,” Peñalosa said.
Though he didn’t experience being on the receiving end of such a paralyzing blow, Peñalosa actually scored one unforgettable win against Johnny Gonzalez in 2007.
Behind on all scorecards, Peñalosa rammed a left hook just underneath Gonzalez’s right rib cage, sending the Mexican on all fours.
Villamor describes the wicked body shot as a punch you most likely won’t recover from.
“It affects your breathing and it gets worse when you try to get up after getting hit,” said Villamor, stressing that Donaire himself almost got knocked out by Naoya Inoue but he miraculously endured the debilitating pain.
“This is the reason why I totally admire Nonito because I thought he would just give up but he fought on,” Villamo, who now develops amateurs in his native Cebu City with the help of his brother Edmond.
Flores, who also trains young fighters in Mandaue, Cebu, adds another perspective as to why body punches hurt the most.
“The pain causes you to have breathing difficulties. You can’t even straighten out your body. Head shots you can recover from most especially when the boxer is in tip-top shape but body shots? The pain is unbearable when the impact of the blow comes simultaneous with your breathing.”
Flores added: “The pain is indescribable.”
Tunacao, now based in Kobe, Japan, swears he would rather get head shots than one body brutal blow.
“There’s simply nothing like it.”
