THE Ring Magazine, the widely recognized “bible of boxing,” recently came out with its top 100 fighters issue and only one Filipino made it to the list. Manny Pacquiao was at number 3 and deservedly so. The cut-off date for the list was September of last year, but I was surprised to see that no other Pinoys made it to the list.
Brian Viloria was the WBC light flyweight champ and although he was upset by Omar Ni?o in August of 2006, it was a close decision loss and the first on his ledger. He obviously deserved a spot on the list more so than In Jin Chi (30-3-1 (18)) who was at number 76 despite losing to Takashi Koshimoto in January. Or Veeraphol Sahaprom (53-3-2 (38)) who was at no. 89, despite being knocked out in March by Hozumi Hasegawa. Or even Demarcus “Chop chop” Corley who was ranked 100.
Corley lost to Junior Witter for the WBC Junior Welterweight in September 2006 belt and before that, he picked up a couple of meaningless wins over guys with designer-label names like Johnnie Walker and Kevin Carter. (I’m not kidding).
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
I even think Gerry Pe?alosa deserved some consideration by virtue of his two impressive outings in 2006 over quality opponents. Next year’s list however should definitely include Z Gorres, who recently proved he is of world class caliber.
Fernando Montiel was at no. 68 and Z’s, brutal rearranging of Montiel’s handsome features should be an indication of where he ranks. You can check out the list for yourself at TheRing-online.com
LAST WORD ON CEBOOO. Reacting to my rather strongly worded piece on the salacious proposition that the booing heaped on Manny Pacquiao was paid and orchestrated by his political opponents, Last Rounder Edsel Monsalud ([email protected]) writes:
“I’ve read your column regarding Ceboos staged and I very much agree with you. It’s an insult for us here in the northern part of Cebu if I may say so. We are computer instructors here in Bogo and together with a number of my friends we traveled to the city just to watch the “Battle of Cebu”… Though we were not at ringside, we were among the thousands that shouted boos to Pacquiao when he entered and more so when he was acknowledged…
Everyday we always go online to read news at pacland (Manny’s unofficial website which is the brainchild of the tireless Dong Secuya) and we do not call ourselves pacfans anymore because of his political aspirations…
A true boxing champion will remain in boxing and do things that will help and promote Philippine boxing like what the Elordes are doing…”
Amen Edsel. Thanks for your e-mail and for supporting local boxing. May your tribe increase..
FAMILY AFFAIR. Last Sunday, Rafael Marquez served notice that he too deserves a spot in the boxing limelight by breaking Israel Vasquez’s nose in the first round, forcing the latter to quit in the seventh. In so doing, Juan Manuel Marquez’s younger brother annexed the WBC super bantamweight title and in my book, crashed the pound for pound list. Other notable boxing brother combos active today are the Simms (Travis and Tarvis), Cottos (Miguel and Jose Miguel), Judahs (Zab and Daniel) and of course the Pacquiaos (Manny and “Blow blow” Bobby)
BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE. The Last Round is answering the bell for the ongoing drive to help the fire victims of Barangay Tinago. Joel Garganera, my fraternity brod and Tinago’s young and dynamic barangay captain informed us that donations, whether cash or in kind, are most welcome. Please call 259-6667 or 256-3821 and look for Barangay Secretary Susan or DSWS personnel Flor and Yolly. To start the ball rolling, this writer is donating three columns’ pay for the fire victims. It may not be much but it’s the gesture that matters right? Let’s show to them that fight fans have hearts bigger then the flames that engulfed their homes.
THE LAST ROUND. This week’s last round goes out to Last Rounder Roland Hernando. “Ian” as he is fondly called by family and friends will be celebrating his birthday today surrounded by the love and comfort of his wife Sharlene and their cute daughter Ma Fiona. Cheers!
