If it?s any consolation to Pinoys, who were disappointed to see our lone boxing entry lose in the London Olympics, the US boxing team for the first suffered a medal shutout in an event, which they used to dominate.
The Americans used to lord it over in Olympic boxing together with the Cubans, Russians and a few East Europeans. But this year in London, the Yanks didn?t even win a silver or bronze, which explains why they are trailing China in the overall medal standings.
The US, led by Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte ruled the waves in Olympic swimming. The women?s gymnast team also fared well. But the US came up short in boxing where the Americans used to excel
Only Cuba, with its greatest heavyweight, who ever competed in the Olympics?Teofilo Stevenson?stopped the US from completing a sweep in past boxing competitions.
Stevenson, an unprecedented gold medalist in the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Olympics, never turned professional to exemplify the true amateur spirit of the Games.
All these American gold medalists turned pro after winning in Olympic boxing: middleweight Floyd Patterson,1952 Helsinki; light heavyweight Muhammad Ali (nee Cassius Clay),1960 Rome; heavyweight Joe Frazier, 1964 Tokyo; welterweight Ray Charles (Sugar) Leonard, brothers Leon (light heavyweight) and middleweight Michael Spinks, 1976 Montreal; welterweight Mark Breland and lightweight Pernell Whitaker, 1984 Los Angeles; and Oscar de la Hoya, 1992 Barcelona.
Like Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali before him, De la Hoya
parlayed his gold medal performance and good looks into one of boxing?s most successful careers. His three notable defeats were at the hands of Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather and our very own Manny Pacquiao. After he retired, De la Hoya formed and still heads Golden Boy Promotions.
Going back to our short-lived expectation of light flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga to win a medal in London, boxing is the Olympic event, where Filipinos can still attain a gold medal. We came close when another Anthony, surnamed Villanueva, settled for the silver in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and Mansueto Velasco also bagged the silver in 1996 in Atlanta.
The records show that Anthony Villanueva?s father Jose ?Cely? Villanueva also took the bronze in boxing in the 1932 Olympiad. Mansueto?s brother, Roel Velasco was also a bronze medalist (1992) in Barcelona. Let?s not also forget Leopoldo Serrantes, the 1988 bronze winner in Seoul.
Boxing is the event, where Filipinos can compete in a really level playing field. Competition is based on weight categories and it doesn?t matter much if you?re three inches taller than your opponent. Barriga proved that by outboxing a taller Italian foe before he exited against a Kazakhstan opponent.
Unlike in track and field, a sprinter like Jamaica?s Usain Bolt with his long legs and longer stride, leaves rivals in the dust. Or in swimming, where a Michael Phelps with his wide wing span can easily outstroke the rest of the field.
If our sports officials in charge of amateur boxing know any better, they should be starting the search for our entries in the 2016 Olympiad.
