NORTH Cotabato will host a week-long boxing festival starting Saturday to mark the 91st foundation anniversary of the province.
Dubbed as the first Mindanao Invitational Amateur Boxing Tournament, the slugfest will feature fighters from amateur clubs from all over Mindanao and some provinces from the Visayas.
The competition is expected to be tough with the winners forming the first batch of boxers who will be trained by Cuban boxing coach Honorato Espinosa under the Governors’ National Boxing Training program.
To cap the weeklong activity, a professional boxing card will be staged right after the awarding ceremonies for amateur boxers on Aug. 31.
Young professional boxers from North Cotabato who are products of Governor Manny Pi?ol’s amateur boxing program will be seeing action in the boxing card which will be open to the public.
Among the powerhouse teams are Davao del Norte and Panabo City, teams sponsored by Rep. Tony Boy Floirendo, the Davao City team of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the Sarangani province team of Gov. Miguel Dominguez and Mayor Joel Lopez, the Digos City team of Mayor Boy Latasa, the Bohol team of Governor Erico Aumentado and the host province, which will be fielding three teams.
The 67-year-old Espinosa, known as the trainer of the boxer who gave Cuba its first Olympic gold in Munich in 1972, is also expected to scout for young talents who will train under the Governors’ National Amateur Boxing Circuit in preparation for the big international events, including the Beijing Olympics of 2008.
“Many talents will be discovered in this tournament and we hope to organize the Governors’ national amateur team afterwards,” said Pi?ol.
The pro boxing card will feature bantamweight sensation Glenn Porras, 19, against the veteran Mark Sales of Manila, the country’s No. 7 junior bantamweight contender and former World Boxing Federation Asia-Pacific 115-lb. titlist.
