THIS has been the good news of all time: It is only in boxing where we have the biggest chance to win a gold medal in the Olympics.
But of late, though, we?ve been absorbing blows when we shouldn?t.
Flashback:
We should have won the boxing gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but Onyok Velasco fell short.
Or was he robbed, the way we?ve been deprived, too–many had believed–of the boxing gold when Anthony Villanueva lost to Russian Stanislav Stephaskin in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics?
From ringside of the Villanueva-Stephaskin encounter, the late, lamented Joe Cantada, still the best sportscaster this country has ever produced past and present, kept shouting, ?We were robbed! We were robbed!? when the verdict declaring Stephaskin the winner was announced.
I was in high school then when that debacle happened.
Years later, by dint of luck I must insist, Joe and I would become dear friends.
I would never forget Joe, who succumbed to cancer in 1992 before he could turn 50, because it was him who gave me my first break in boxing broadcasting. That was in Tokyo, during the ill-fated defense of Frank Cedeno?s world crown in 1983.
Ah, Joe, you are irreplaceable.
Thirty-two years after Villanueva?s 1964 defeat in Tokyo, Joe?s plaint was reprised by Ron de los Reyes, our ringside announcer, when officials found Onyok the loser to Bulgarian Daniel Petrov Bujilov in Atlanta in the 1996 Olympic finals.
?We were robbed again!? Ron, my ?ronmate? in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, said. ?This is yet another sad day for Philippine sports!?
After Atlanta ?96, we faltered miserably in boxing in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
This series of stinging setbacks seemed to haunt us as we only have one male bet to the London Olympics this year: light-flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga.
Only two days ago, Charly Suarez blew a won-seat to London when he bowed to Liu Quing of China, 11-15, in Kazakhstan, joining his compatriots Rey Saludar, Wilfredo Lopez, Dennis Galvan and Joegin Ladon to the showers.
Maybe, our female boxers can fill the void as they gun for Olympic slots in China next month?
Maybe.
