Instead of involving himself in a petty squabble with Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Noli Eala over whether the commissioner needs to be licensed by the Games and Amusements Board or not, GAB chairman Eric Buhain should devote his energies and attention to the shenanigans going on in boxing.
Week after week we have learned of impostors, fake results, terribly overmatched Filipinos getting mauled in Thailand and fighters with no license or no GAB approval going abroad to fight. There have also been reports in the Thai press about Filipino boxers with Hepatitis B and other diseases fighting in Thailand. Even the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation is aware of the scandals.
Beyond this, there are the sordid instances of boxers not being paid by promoters some of whom issue bouncing checks or fighters being exploited to the hilt while others, who are entitled to mandatory title shots, often don’t get them because the GAB is sleeping on the job. There are also instances of rank discrimination where Japanese managers don’t get a license but Filipino managers have to.
Boxing division chief Noli Flores’ standard excuse when it comes to the rackets perpetrated by unscrupulous Filipino matchmakers and their Thai counterparts is that since there are no visa requirements to travel to Thailand, the GAB is helpless in stopping the anomalies. To put it bluntly, that’s bull! All the GAB has to do is to request the Bureau of Immigration to prevent any boxer from leaving the country to fight abroad unless he has the proper clearance from the GAB.
Quite honestly, to expect such diligence and overall competence from the GAB boxing division is asking too much. Only recently the GAB allowed Roberto Rubillar, who suffered a TKO against world-rated Bert Batawang in Cebu, to fight again after a couple of weeks which was a violation of its own 45-day ban. In an effort to wiggle out of the mess, Flores attempted to blame the GAB office in Cebu, which happens to be one of the most efficient regional offices, for allegedly submitting a late report on the fight results. Later on, when it was discovered to be untrue, the story was changed. This time the claim was, the GAB office in Manila hadn’t received the faxed results!
Boxing is the one sport that has consistently brought honor to our country. The least the GAB can do is to protect our fighters, the decent men involved in the fight business and crackdown relentlessly on the unscrupulous individuals who are a disgrace to the sport and even to the country.
