Sporting Chance

Jess Maca is ranked No. 2 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) in the bantamweight division. His manager Florencio Rontal expects the Bohol mauler to be elevated to No. 1 if he stays active and continues to win. Before the year ends, Rontal predicts WBC champion Veerapol Sahaprom of Thailand will be forced to make a mandatory defense against Maca.

That seems to be the only way for Maca to get ahead because fighters avoid him like the plague. He's the prototype gladiator, a durable warrior whose ability to absorb punishment is short of incredible. Maca is a survivor by instinct.

Maca, 28, captured the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) crown in Tokyo two years ago. He pounded out a majority 12-round decision over Masahiko Nakamura.

After wresting the title, Maca fought thrice more in Japan and won all his assignments on points. That must be a record of sorts. It's next to impossible for a Filipino to win a decision over a Japanese in Japan unless the fight is blatantly one-sided. Maca didn't do it only once -- he did it four straight times, beating Nakamura, previously unbeaten Setsuo Kawamasu in his first OPBF title defense, Shigeru Nakazato in a non-title tiff, and challenger Shin Yamato in January last year.

Maca's fights in Japan were arranged by Mitsu Ishizuka, a Japanese who lives in Manila with his Filipina wife Elvie. Maca was paid $3,000 for the Nakamura bout, $10,000 for Kawamasu, $4,000 for Nakazato, and $12,000 for Yamato.

Because of Maca's string of victories, Ishizuka eventually found it difficult to sign up more Japanese opponents for the Filipino. It was understandable. No Japanese likes to lose to a Filipino in his own country.

For over a year, Maca was inactive. He couldn't get a fight. The Japanese looked the other way. So did the Thais and Koreans.

Surprisingly, Maca remained in the WBC top 10 and wasn't stripped of his OPBF title despite his inactivity. His next defense is long overdue -- he should've made a mandatory defense last Jan. 23

A desperate Rontal arranged for Maca to fight Yodmurong for the Pan Asia Boxing Association (PABA) junior featherweight diadem in Bangkok last April. The purse was a paltry $1,500 -- an insult to Maca. But Rontal explains that he had no choice. There were no other offers on the table. At least, Yodmurong had the guts to face Maca.

As it turned out, Maca and Yodmurong fought to a split 12-round draw. Filipino judge Ferdinand Estrella scored it for Maca. The Thai judge saw it for his countryman. And Korean judge Alan Kim called it a draw, a gift for his gracious Thai hosts.

Maca claims he should've won. Yodmurong was much bigger, he notes, but size was the Thai's only advantage. Rontal insists although Yodmurong was never in danger of being knocked out, he was convincingly outboxed.

Rontal then promoted a card in Tagbilaran last May 7 for Maca to showcase his skills before his Bohol provincemates. Maca's exhibition didn't last too long. He demolished No. 7 superbantamweight Mel Maghinay in less than a round.

Maca is getting impatient. He's not getting any younger and can't afford to get rusty. A long layoff dulls the reflexes.

Rontal, a Cagayan de Oro businessman, says promoter Johnny Elorde is fixing to stage Maca's overdue mandatory OPBF title defense against No. 1 contender Yodchingchai Chuwatthana of Thailand here in July or August. Elorde, however, is out of the country and won't be back until the end of the month so Rontal still doesn't know what the plans are.

Rontal's dream is for Maca to someday fight for the world title. If Rontal plays his cards right, his dream could come true sooner than he hopes.

Maca, who's got a granite jaw, has never been floored, never been knocked out, and never been stopped. His record is 37-16-4, with 16 knockouts. He's lost twice to the fearsome World Boxing Federation junior bantamweight ruler Samson Dutch-Boy Gym of Thailand but both setbacks were on points. He's also blown decisions to Gerry Peñalosa, Veerapol (before he took the WBC title), and former WBC flyweight king Chatchai Sasakul.

Maca makes a living out of boxing. If he doesn't fight, he doesn't earn. That's why he's eager to put up his dukes again -- the problem is finding an opponent.

Would he fight Manny Pacquiao? Maca says if the price is right, he'll even fight Mike Tyson. One thing he promises, when he finally fights for a world title, it'll be do or die.

Maca deserves a break. Who knows? He might just become the Philippines' next world champion.