Not over for Tunacao - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

It was a humiliating loss. And Malcolm Tuñacao only has himself to blame for the lack of discipline in regulating his food intake. Luckily, he wasn’t seriously hurt in losing his World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam on a first round knockout in Pichit province, Thailand, last Friday.

Tuñacao’s weight soared to 120, eight pounds over the limit, five days before the fight. For nearly four days, he hardly ate to bring his weight down. That was torture – a punishment worse than what befell Tuñacao in the ring. When you don’t eat, your body wilts and your mind breaks. You get dehydrated. You’re miserable – and you can’t do a thing about it.

Medical studies show that a boxer is susceptible to brain damage when he’s dehydrated. That’s because the fluids that usually form the protective cover for the brain are drained. The WBC, realizing this danger, instituted a program two years ago to monitor the weight of fighters. Under WBC rules, a fighter can scale only up to 10 percent overweight 30 days before a bout and five percent a week before.

Games and Amusements Board (GAB) physician Dr. Nasser Cruz, who accompanied Tuñacao to Thailand, said a solid blow to the head could cause brain damage on a dehydrated fighter.

"Malcolm was burned out trying to make the weight," related Dr. Cruz. "He lost the fight on the scales. It’s high time to educate our fighters on the importance of nutrition. A good nutritionist can prepare a balanced diet for a fighter to preserve his strength without reducing his food intake."

Dr. Cruz cited Gerry Peñalosa’s case where with guidance from prominent nutritionist Dr. Sanirose Orbeta, he has managed to keep within the junior bantamweight limit while enjoying three square meals a day.

In Tuñacao’s case, he was only three pounds over the limit when he left Manila for Thailand a week before the fight. He was so confident of making the weight that he gorged on food during the plane ride to Bangkok then helped himself to more food offered by his Thai hosts before realizing he was being led into a trap.

But it’s not the end of the world for Tuñacao. He’ll learn from his mistakes. He’s only 22 and he’s got a lot of fighting years left. It was just his first loss in 13 outings.

Tuñacao’s manager Rex (Wakee) Salud said the fighter might come back as a junor bantamweight or bantamweight. My suggestion is for Tuñacao to seek Dr. Orbeta’s advice. Seeking one’s natural weight is no guessing game. Tuñacao requires expert counsel. Dr. Orbeta should set him back on track.

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What a tumble for Tuñacao who in The Ring Magazine’s May 2001 issue, was named, with four others (including WBC superflyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama), for the Azumah Nelson "Where’d He Come From" trophy. The southpaw from Mandaue virtually came from nowhere to wrest the WBC crown from Medgeon 3-K Battery in May last year. But it was a brief reign. Tuñacao almost lost the title in his first defense and was lucky to escape, battling Celes Kobayashi to a split draw, last August. In his second defense, Tuñacao was devastated.

Only four Filipinos had previously lost by a first round knockout in a world title fight. Diego de Villa was stopped by Joo Do Chun in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight championship fight in Kwangju in 1984. Rolando Pascua lost to Johnny Bredahl in an International Boxing Organization (IBO) bantamweight title bout in Copenhagen in 1996. Rico Siodora was halted by Kongthawat Orathai-gym in a World Boxing Federation (WBF) featherweight title fight in Cagayan de Oro in 1998. And Eric Jamili was knocked out by Zolani Petelo in an IBF miniflyweight championship bout in South Africa in 1999.

In contrast, there were five world title fights where Filipinos won by first round knockout. Flash Elorde retained his junior lightweight crown by blitzing Harold Gomes in San Francisco and Sergio Caprari in Manila, both in 1960. Roberto Cruz won the vacant junior welterweight diadem via a first round demolition of Raymundo (Battling) Torres in Los Angeles in 1963. Ben Villaflor regained the junior lightweight title on a revenge first round stoppage of Kuniaki Shibata in Honolulu in 1973. And Luisito Espinosa pulverized Khaokor Galaxy in a single round to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title in Bangkok in 1989.

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For Pongsaklek, the win over Tuñacao was a cakewalk. But it wasn’t a measure of how tough he is. Remember Medgeon when he knocked out a dehydrated Manny Pacquiao in 1999? The Thai looked unbeatable when he steamrolled Pacquiao into submission. Medgeon, however, was reduced to a mere mortal by Tuñacao in their duel. And in the undercard last Friday, Medgeon was knocked out by unheralded Davao teenager Alfren Bulala in the fifth round. So much for Medgeon being unbeatable.

Pongsaklek, 23, has feasted on Filipinos since turning pro. He boasts a 39-1 record, with 23 KOs, and 37 of his wins were at the expense of Filipinos. Last year, Pongsaklek won eight fights — all over Filipinos, namely, Arman Rosil, Joven Simbajon, Max Suarez, Elmer Rodrigo, Ramil Anito (twice), Junior Milla and Nathan Barcelona.

Sooner or later, Pongsaklek’s true colors will be exposed. Is he just a tormentor of patsies or is he in the class of such legendary Thai champions as Pone Kingpetch, Chartchai Chionoi, and Khaosai Galaxy? I suspect that Pongsaklek is no extraordinary talent and maybe someone like Bulala will put him in his place.