Like no other

Mayor Dan Neri Lim masterminded the biggest sporting event ever held in Tagbilaran City last Saturday night.

With a budget of nearly P4 Million, Lim put on a show like no other. His goal was to establish the city’s capability to host an undertaking of major proportions. No doubt, he succeeded with flying colors.

Over 20,000 fans packed the Carlos P. Garcia Stadium to witness the spectacle that featured Bohol fighters Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista and Caesar Amonsot knocking out their opponents in style.

Bautista, 18, emerged from a cloud of smoke and entered the ring to the thumping beat of "Stout Hearted Men," with lyrics in Filipino composed by Boholano Rene Balbin as a tribute to the fighter. His foe, Obote Ameme of Tanzania, came in to the music of an African chant punctuated by chilling elephant sounds.

Hometowner Jerome Sala of "Star-In-A-Million" fame sang the national anthem and the world-acclaimed Loboc Children’s Choir, composed of 24 boys and girls, sang the provincial hymn. The Platters’ vocalist Bobby Soul joined in to croon the fans with "My Prayer" "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and "Twilight Time" in intervals between bouts.

Soul, 67, was a background vocalist with the original Platters who made their chart debut in 1952. He moved here from North Carolina last July and his company "Magic Touch Entertainment Center" is based in Del Pan.

The atmosphere was festive in the huge track and football turf where the ring stood under a 65-foot by 45-foot, 30-foot high canopy with Belgium aluminum posts imported from Holland. Lim spent about P400,000 to bring in the canopy from Manila.

The canopy is owned by Philip Santos of Trussworks. It was used for Manny Pacquiao’s fight against Fahsan 3-K Battery in Taguig last December and concerts by Avril Lavigne and Alicia Keys. It takes about 12 hours for eight men to set up the canopy and six to dismantle.

Six giant screens were mounted for fans to get a clear look at the proceedings from any angle and at any distance. Also, 25 portalets were shipped in from Cebu and strategically situated in the stadium.

Lim allowed free admission for anyone wearing a red shirt (Bautista’s favorite color is red), senior citizens and students showing school IDs. Otherwise, a fan was charged P100 to enter. Souvenir cards and red shirts with Bautista’s photo and the words "I Believe" were distributed to the crowd.

A sea of crimson covered the stadium as if to express Lim’s theme of a united Bohol. He said the historic event would not have been possible if Boholanos weren’t united.

In the audience were Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado, the province’s three congressmen–Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes and Eladio Jala–Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, Manila Rep. Myles Roces, Zamboanga del Norte Gov. Rolando Yebes, Cebu promoter Rex (Wakee) Salud and lawyer Rene Banes representing PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Bautista and Amonsot didn’t disappoint the throng.

Boom Boom hardly raised a sweat as he stopped Ameme at 1:57 of the second round to easily retain his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific bantamweight crown. His first blow–a jarring left hook to the jaw–staggered Ameme and set the tone for the abbreviated bout. Bautista’s power was just too much for Ameme to handle.

A series of power shots to the side of the body capped by a right to the head brought down Ameme for an eight-count midway the second round. He got up only to be greeted by a vicious left to the kidney. Ameme crumpled to the canvas and was counted out by referee Bruce McTavish.

Bautista’s win triggered a dazzling 10-minute uninterrupted fireworks display, courtesy of Negros Oriental Gov. George Arnaiz.

Amonsot, 20, knocked out previously unbeaten Victor Mausul of Indonesia at 1:17 of the eighth round to wrest the WBO Asia-Pacific superfeatherweight diadem. He uncorked a left hook to the jaw that decked Mausul for the full count.

But it wasn’t a walk in the park for the bleached-blond Amonsot who was slapped a point deduction by referee Teddy Alivio for low blows in the fourth round. Worse, Amonsot was floored by three straight right uppercuts to the chin in the fifth.

Mausul repeatedly mocked Amonsot by grinning as the Filipino stalked the Indonesian in the early going. But in the end, Amonsot had the last laugh.

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Cebu eye-ear-nose-and-throat specialist Dr. Gary Rivera was at ringside for the fights and had a special interest in Amonsot. That’s because Amonsot is his patient. Dr. Rivera removed a blockage in Amonsot’s nose two weeks before the fight. The blockage was a blood clot probably triggered by a punch during a sparring session.

In the course of his examination, Dr. Rivera found a small polyp in each of Amonsot’s nostrils. He said Amonsot will eventually undergo surgery for the polyps to be removed because they hamper his breathing. Dr. Rivera’s uncle, boxing scholar Hermie, was also at ringside.

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Ameme’s trainer Emmanuel Mlundwa, 49, is a 1980 Moscow Olympic bantamweight quarterfinalist.

According to Mlundwa, he beat an Iranian and a Ghanaian before losing to an Irish fighter who went on to claim a bronze in Moscow. Mlundwa logged 15 fights as a pro for two years before quitting because of a detached retina in his left eye in 1983. He earned a degree in computers and logic at Keel University in Newcastle, England, in 1998 and is a private tutor when not consumed by the boxing business.

In Tanzania, Mlundwa owns a stable of 11 fighters, including highly touted superflyweight Antone Matias.

"Matias has fought twice in Thailand and won twice by knockout," said Mlundwa. "If Mayor Lim wants, I could bring him over to fight Bautista."

Incidentally, Ameme was seen wearing a red "I Believe" T-shirt the morning after the fight.

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A press conference was held from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Miravilla Restaurant after the show. Bautista, Amonsot, their manager Tony Aldeguer, US business agent Mike Koncz, WBO Asia-Pacific chairman Leon Panoncillo of Hawaii and Mayor Lim answered questions from media. Everyone was wide awake for the lively open forum despite the midnight hour.