After placing third overall at the recent Smart Youth National Amateur Boxing Championships, the fighters at the Digos City-based American Boxing Academy (ABA) are now looking forward to the next national meet to be held in Bacolod City.
“We brought 15 boys under 18 years old to Iloilo city for the 2008 Smart Youth National Amatuer Boxing Championships. We competed against 48 teams and 599 boxers from all over the Philippines. American Boxing Academy placed 3rd in the overall team championship behind National Champion Panabo and runner up Bago City of Manila,” said ABA’s Ken Smith.
“It should be noted it was wrongly reported in the national newspaper that Bacolod was 3rd and American Boxing Academy 4th (actually ABA had 2 gold 1 silver and 4 bronze, Bacolod had only 2 gold 1 silver and 3 bronze),” added Smith.
The event was the ABA boys’ first try at a national tourney, and it fielded only half the entries as the two teams who finished ahead of them. Panabo entered 28 boxers, while Bago city entered 31 boxers, and American Boxing Academy entered 15 boys.
The next National Amateur meet is scheduled in Bacolod {in October 2008 and American Boxing Academy expects to feild a very strong team which is hoped to improve on its 3rd place national finish.
Among the ABA Gold Medalists were Erwin Romosassa and Alpe Jay while the Silver Medalist was John Mark Vilimor,, Bronze medal winners were Keegan De la Cruz, Joebert Delas Reyes, Edgar Solcorietes and JR Cubilian.
Top photo: The American Boxing Academy (ABA) Amateur Team with Ken Smith (at the back).
ABA Amateur Team.
