It’s unusual for a boxing show to feature an invocation but businessman Tony Aldeguer’s recent Cebu blockbuster, called “The Moment of Truth,” brought in three pastors to pray in the ring before the main hostilities got underway.
One of the ministers was Jack Hall, a 78-year-old native of Muncie, Indiana. He is the ALA Boxing Gym’s chaplain and spiritual adviser. It was Hall’s idea to start the main event with an invocation.
Aldeguer described Hall as “a very nice human being and an avid boxing fan.”
Hall considers himself a charismatic Catholic and is involved with various religious denominations as a layman doing missionary work. He visits different Bible schools in the country and teaches at the Leyte Bible College in Dulag.
“I do fellowships with the Nazarenes, Baptists and Catholics,” said Hall. “I travel with pastors and give short openings of prayer and testimonies. I recently brought some ALA boys for a Catholic TV Mass with Fr. Ramon Ofredo. I love the Catholic Mass. Fr. Ofredo asked the boys to stand during the Mass. A. J. Banal, who is fighting on the Oscar de la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather card in Las Vegas in May, told me he’d like me to be with him for his big fight. I’ve always been close to him.”
Hall is no stranger to boxing. He was an amateur lightweight Golden Gloves contender for five years in Muncie and once beat state champion Jerry Landis with heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano as a guest referee. In all, Hall compiled an amateur record of 33-2.
“I was a good wrestler in junior high school as the city champion but my father died when I was 15 so I chose to work instead of getting my letter (as a varsity star),” said Hall. “After serving in the Army, I became an amateur fighter in 1949. My popularity would fill the fieldhouse which had a capacity of 9,000. I never turned pro because I just wasn’t interested. I wasn’t really a pro prospect. I had a late start as an amateur and I wanted to succeed in business instead.”
Hall was an amateur boxing coach for eight years and his prot?g? Wade Smith, a classy southpaw, became the AAU, Golden Gloves and Pan-Am welterweight champion in 1961-62.
One of Hall’s most memorable moments in boxing was meeting Muhammad Ali. “I was a good friend of Joe Martin and Fred Stone who trained Ali as a young boy,” said Hall. “I met Ali in Las Vegas during an amateur meet.”
When Hall moved his home contracting business to Florida, he lost touch with boxing.
“In Florida, I couldn’t find a good trainer so I was not close to boxing,” he said. “But my popularity as a fighter gave me driving faith and success in my business. I won several national awards as a contractor. I was very successful in remodeling homes. I was the national contractor of the year in 1967. I also received three other national awards. I’m proud to say I did the painting of the statues at Hill 120 in Dulag where the first American flag was raised in 1944. Liberation Day is celebrated every Oct. 19. I also participated in the Palo commemorations of Gen. McArthur’s landing for two years. My brothers and uncle fought in the Philippines during the War. Filipinos in the mountains helped us win the war and liberate the Philippines.”
Hall retired in 2000 and decided to settle in Cebu, a boxing hotbed.
“I came to Cebu to find boxing, my first love,” said Hall. “I am now in heaven as the ALA boys‚ chaplain. I am very close to Boom Boom Bautista who is a product of the Lord with his God-given natural ability. We used to watch fights together side by side with my wife when he was just starting. I told him someday when he is famous, he will forget me but Boom Boom said never because how could he forget the man who keeps telling him about Jesus?”
Before Bautista’s fight in Florida last December, Aldegeur wrote this letter to Hall:
“You once texted me that ‘without God, we can do nothing but with God, we can do anything.’ I believe in these words. Please pray for us and ask our Lord Jesus to help Bautista win his fight. It means so much to all of us. We believe in the power of prayers and we ask you, our chaplain, to pray for Bautista. With God, we will win this fight but without Him, we are lost. So help us, God.”
Hall prayed hard for Bautista’s victory. And his prayers were answered. Bautista stopped Giovanni Andrade in the fourth round.
“I have many fighter friends like Randy Suico, Malcolm Tunacao, Yukka Gejon, Rodel Mayol and Rev Santillan,” said Hall. “My thinking is to be a champion in whatever field, the Lord is your guide. Filipino fighters have good footwork and timing but they need good coaching. Tony gives his boys his personal attention which is most important. Boxing is a mind game with a winning spirit. You must have style and fight from a good stance. Defense is very imporant. A coach must show dead serious perseverance in training a fighter.”
Hall married his Filipina wife Jenny, 32, five years ago. They met when she was a teacher at a Christian school in Cagayan de Oro.
In boxing, it’s not only about skill and mental toughness. It’s also about faith in the Lord.
