AMATEUR boxing standouts belonging to the Negros Amateur Boxing Association (NABA) will parade their skills anew when they compete in the Monico Pasalamat Invitational Amateur Boxing tournament at the Barangay Punta Taytay gym.
The one-day invitational competition hosted by Barangay Punta Taytay headed by Barangay Captain Rufino Alcala aims to expose upcoming amateur boxers in the barangay against medalists of the recent 2009 Smart National Open, Youth & Women’s Amateur Boxing Championship held last January 17-24, at the Negros Occidental Multi-Purpose Activity Center (NOMPAC).
Bacolod, featuring boxers from NABA and assembled by the Monico Golden Gloves group of lone Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, chairman of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), emerged as overall team champion of the week-long competition organized by the amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) headed by Ricky Vargas, and hosted by Puentevella’s congressional field office in cooperation with NABA.
This Saturday’s one-day boxing event will kick off with a motorcade around the city’s major thoroughfares to be participated by all Bacolod boxers who won medals in the recent national tournament, said NABA commissioner Nonoy Quiatchon. The motorcade will end in Barangay Punta Taytay and will be followed immediately by the opening program of the tournament.
A total of 14 amateur bouts are scheduled in this competition which is slated to kick off at 3PM and is open to the public for free.
Among the Smart-ABAP medalists expected to see action Saturday are Joren Labordo, Robel Andales, Remcar Macuja, Ruben Sibugan, Jonathan Bagaet, Ryan Dayatan and Alladin Figueroa, among others.
Another boxing event is scheduled on Feb. 28, Guanzon told Sun.Star Bacolod yesterday in an interview at his residence during the courtesy call of national boxers Joan Tipon of Barangay Banago, Bacolod City and Albert Pabila of Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod City.
Tipon, the 2006 Doha Asian Games bantamweight gold medalist, and Pabila, who took a bronze during the 2007 Thailand SEAGames, visited Guanzon prior to flying back to Manila to resume training with the ABAP national training pool. The two are former NABA prot?g?s before they were taken in as members of the ABAP national pool.
Present in yesterday’s visit were Quiatchon as well as NABA treasurer and GAB consultant Vic Tan.
“We hope to jumpstart our scheduled NABA tournaments this year with Saturday’s invitational event at Punta Taytay as we want to make our boxers feel that we plan to have a loaded year for them this year in terms of tournaments,” Guanzon said.
Tipon and Pabila assured Guanzon they are willing to see action for Bacolod in the Liga ng Pilipinas-type of national tournament being envisioned by the new ABAP leadership and which was announced here during the ABAP National Congress held at L’ Fisher Hotel.
