THOUGH it may sound harsh, the lifetime ban IBF president Daryl Peoples imposed on Argentinian Luis Lazarte for his role in the brawl after Johnreil Casimero won their title bout in Argentina may end up to be a slap on the wrist.
I won?t be surprised if next month, Lazarte would be fighting in Argentina, or even here in Cebu, even in front of Peoples himself.
Why? The IBF banned him from all the matches it sanctions in Argentina, and worldwide, but the thing is, there?s so many boxing alphabet bodies Lazarte could be fighting for the WBC, WBA, IBO, heck, even for the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation, and the other boxing bodies could care less what the other says or does.
This, in a way, also explains why pro boxers are not in the Olympics. There?s no single world body that can be aligned with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and though they are about boxing, in the eyes of the IOC, amateur and professional boxing are as different as golf and basketball.
I really find the way how pro boxing is conducted weird sometimes. It seems you can change any rule just to suit a situation. We have the Asia Pacific titles but I?ve seen matches where Africans fight for them. That?s like say, Spain fighting China for the Asian Basketball Championships title.
I know only title fights go for 12 rounds?that?s why the 11th and 12th are called the championship rounds?but I?ve seen a title fight reduced to 10 rounds because the challenger was unprepared. And another weird thing, guys who fight for, say, the 130-pound title, where the weight limit is 130 pounds, are usually over the limit. This is because the weigh in is conducted the day before the bout and boxer have the luxury of bloating up. You could compare this ?limit? to say, a 30-year-old dude winning the 18-under title.
If you think that?s weird, in future Olympics we could see pros fight, but they won?t be the Manny Pacquaios, they would be the pros under the auspices of the International Amteur Boxing Association, which, last I heard, was planning a pro boxing league.
Oh yeah. Back to Lazarte. Though I laud the IBF for the sanction, I guess, it would have been better if they sanctioned the Argentina Boxing Federation president Osvaldo Bisbal, who just laughed off the riot. A cool $50,000 fine payable to Team Casimero would have done the trick.
Or even better. IBF could have ordered that Lazarte face Casimero in a non-title bout here in Cebu, with the cost of the promotion to be shouldered by Bisbal. The folks who showed how good they were in ganging up on a single fighter should be invited too, and should get reserve seats in the general admission section, say one Argentinean for every 20 Pinoy fans? (You could throw in a couple of boxing writers, who, last I heard have become MMA practicioners.)
But kidding aside, even if the IBF does that, you know what will happen? Lazarte and Bisbal won?t get harmed and will have nothing but praises for Philippine boxing fans.
Erik Morales, who had a fierce trilogy with Pacquaio, said he was apprehensive in visiting the Philippines despite assurances from his Pinoy friends and what happened?
During a shopping trip, guards had to be called to shield him from well-wishers.
In Cebu? That joke of a Mexican who fought Milan Melindo didn?t get harmed after his stint. The worst he got were a few jokes thrown his way.
The riot was a despicable act and Bisbal?s nonchalant reaction even more. But I liked how Casimero and his team has handled it. I was impressed, too, with Sammy Gello-ani, whose courage in the video that has since gone viral was shown. His first order of business? To ensure Casimero?s safety.
In the middle of the riot, Sir Sammy and Casimero got separated and you could Sir Sammy crossing the ring, while bobbing and weaving of course, so he could shield his boxer with his rather huge build because the unruly fans were throwing everything at Casimero.
