Me llamo Genaro Garcia

Comprendes? Thanks to our Spanish classes in college, this literally means, “They call me Genaro Garcia.” It’s also translated as “My name is Genaro Garcia” or “I am Genaro Garcia.” Muy facil, no?

Well I’m afraid it’s a little bit more complicated than that. By this time, every boxing fan already knows what happened last week in Bohol. In a weird case of a “switch,” a Genaro Garcia did show up to face Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, but he wasn’t the Genaro Garcia that ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports had been selling to the market as Bautista’s foe. The hype was up, the excitement was in the air and both ALA and ABS-CBN were looking forward to having a big return to Bohol after Pinoy Pride visits to Cebu and Bacolod. And who else to place in the main event other than Candijay’s Boom Boom? They couldn’t have picked a better script.

It was a perfect TV drama set to unfold before all of us, but alas, something went wrong somewhere out there. Like a TV drama or sitcom, everything was set. The stage was set. The crew was pumped up. The actors were all gung-ho (including the fake Genaro). In my dealings with ALA Promotions, their typical reaction at around this time before a big event would be “Ok na tanan. Ang boxing na lang kuwang.” This was the ideal scenario one wanted to have before a big fight. But Pinoy Pride 12 will be a different case study all together. But while everything was in place, the show’s casting directors had something else in mind. Instead of bringing in a fierce kontra bida, they brought in a chef (no joke here since the fake “Genaro” is one in real life). 

There are actually two sides of casting directors here. We have one for the local side working with ALA Promotions and another in Mexico. The Mexico side acts as a talent manager who offers to bring in Mexican “actors” who are needed to make shows like Pinoy Pride a big hit. Again, nothing better than hyping up the Philippines vs. Mexico rivalry angle. The local side acted in good faith when it requested for the Genaro Garcia who had been involved in many big fights, and not the chef Garcia who hardly looked and acted like a boxer. Even ALA’s own resident chef Jun “Flash Mongos” Intor could’ve beaten him. And this is where the questions will roam endlessly without a clear answer in sight. Mexico’s casting director claims to have sent Genaro Garcia and on paper, he’s right. But the local side will claim they asked for the other Genaro Garcia and have shown the paper trail to prove it. In this pointing of fingers, we’ll likely get nowhere. My only footnote is that the real Genaro Garcia last fought on February 11 as per boxrec.com. Would it have been realistic to have him fighting again three weeks after his last bout on the other side of the globe? But these questions won’t even solve Pinoy Pride 12. The damage is done and no one can turn it around. Yet in an unprecedented gesture of true sportsmanship and goodwill, ALA has gone on a “money back guaranty” campaign. The big show has now turned into a financial headache. Never before have I seen anything like this in boxing.

Lessons learned. When one gets to be as big as ALA Promotions, one should never forget to take care of the little things especially when going big time. ALA Promotions seeks to become another Teiken Promotions in Asia. They want to follow the likes of Top Rank but on the Asia side. But with this comes the need to be more careful, to be more meticulous, to be more circumspect and to be more vigilant. Boxing isn’t exactly the most honest sport in the world and “switches,” although not too common anymore, still take place. ALA’s casting directors obviously have to review the way they do things; and find ways to the right connections who can help, not hurt them. Trust is a word you don’t hear too often in boxing, but it’s a must when dealing with boxing agents across the globe. Moreover, you have to trust the right people. Every contact, contract and correspondence have to be thoroughly reviewed. Thanks to technology, this is ten times easier than before. Better safe than sorry. Saying sorry for a million buck booboo for a second time is no longer an option.

Will this mess take ALA Promotions down? Will it ruin them? Of course not. They’ll take this opportunity to become stronger and better. With Pinoy Pride and AJ Banal coming up on March 24, some boxing fans might have their questions and doubts about ALA Promotions, but they’ll just have to move on and get it done. Will we be seeing the real “Raul Hidalgo” against Banal? And what about all those Mexicans in the past?

But the show will go on. And the questions will be asked.

Como se llama usted? La verdad, por favor.

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Time-out: The Milo-backed BEST basketball clinic will be held May 14-19, 2012, at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Mango Avenue Campus Gym. >>> You can reach me at [email protected].