Kenyan offers $13,000 rematch

DAVAO CITY – Dethroned WBC International superbantamweight champion Sande Otieno of Kenya offered his tormentor Balweg Bangoyan a $13,000 purse and four plane tickets for a rematch in Nairobi the morning after the unbeaten Davao del Sur brawler wrested the crown on a fifth round technical decision at the Rizal Memorial Colleges gym here Friday night.

The four plane tickets include one for New Zealand referee Bruce McTavish, the Angeles City resident who worked their fight in a card promoted by Mayor Zander Khan of Jose Abad Santos, Davao del Sur.

Otieno was paid $10,000 and given a sum for four round-trip plane tickets to make his second title defense against Bangoyan. Three Otienos traveled 15 hours from Nairobi to Manila via Doha then took a connecting flight to Davao City. Otieno arrived with his brother Nick, who knocked out Rexon Flores in the undercard, and trainer Paul, the group’s spokesman, last Oct. 4. The money for a fourth ticket was not returned.

Nick was paid $1,500 for the Flores bout.

Paul, who is the brothers’ cousin, said it was unfair to stop the fight with Bangoyan fading in the fifth round. Ringside physician Dr. Edgar Tan advised McTavish to call it a night after ruling Bangoyan unfit to continue because of a cut inflicted by an accidental headbutt in the second round.

“If they wanted to stop it, why did they wait until the fifth round?” wondered Paul. “They could’ve stopped it in the second. I don’t think what they did was right. Sande was knocked down in the first round but wasn’t hurt. He got up to dominate Bangoyan. When he won the WBC title from Marcel Kasimov in Russia last year, Sande also went down in the first round but won a unanimous decision. Sometimes, it takes a knockdown to shake him up. We want a rematch. I really don’t care where they fight again. Sande will fight him even in his mother’s bedroom.”

If McTavish stopped it in the second round, the result would’ve been an automatic technical draw with Otieno keeping his title. Under WBC rules, a fight that is stopped because of an accidental headbutt after four rounds is decided by the scorecards.

Khan, who has guided Bangoyan’s career since he turned pro two years ago, said the rematch can wait until next year.

“We’ve got an offer from Wakee Salud for Balweg to fight in Macau this December,” said Khan. “It’s a big card with Bobby Pacquiao and possibly Nonito Donaire. We’ll find a tough opponent for Balweg to gain more experience. It will probably be a non-title fight. After that, we’ll do the rematch. Where and when to hold it is something that will still be negotiated.”

Khan said his dream is to pit Bangoyan against highly touted Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista.

“We could do a co-promotion with (Tony) Aldeguer,” he said. “That would be a heckuva fight – Balweg against Boom Boom to determine who’s the best Filipino superbantamweight today. Both are hard hitters so it will definitely end in a knockout. I can’t see how Boom Boom won’t want to face Balweg who, I expect, will be rated in the top 10 by the WBC next month for beating Otieno.”

In this month’s WBC ratings, Otieno was listed No. 7 and Bautista, No. 11. Bangoyan, whose record is now 13-0 with six KOs, wasn’t ranked.

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Four teenaged Dutch exchange students took turns as round girls in the Otieno-Bangoyan and Otieno-Flores fights. They were Judith Gerrits, Femke Boeijen, Nathalie Roelofs and Marlissa Zwitserloob. The girls were accompanied by Dutch nurse and team leader Judith van Leeuwen and other students Sanne Maarseveen, Lieke Ouerdyk and Melissa Lebbing.

The visitors are in Davao City for on-the-job training as caregivers for three months in a joint project of the Philippine Paramedical Technical School of Davao and the Dutch Ministry of Finance. They are training at the Robillo Memorial Hospital in Calinan, a home for the aged and an orphanage. The students expect to graduate from their caregiving course in Holland in April next year.

The girls crowded around Bangoyan after he won the title from Otieno and two of them even kissed him on the cheek.

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Khan is on his third straight and last term as mayor. His sister Ratrasari will likely run as his successor in the next elections. Khan ended the Lachica family’s stranglehold of Jose Abad Santos politics for over 30 years when he won as mayor in 2001. He has accomplished much more than any previous mayor in his administration with livelihood projects, a power program, a telecommunications system and a road network as his milestones. Khan recently obtained a P100 million allocation from President Arroyo for the “missing link” road to connect Saranggani and Davao del Sur. Another achievement was the formation of a triangle coalition with Jose Abad Santos, Glan of Saranggani province and Saranggani Island of Davao del Sur to facilitate trade with Indonesia.

Among Khan’s guests for last Friday’s fights were Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas Cagas, Vice Gov. Simplicio Latasa, North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Piñol, Mayor Jerry Cawa of Saranggani town, Mayor Rudy Mariscal of Sta. Maria, Mayor Roel Paras, Mayor Lito Piñol, Judge Renato Fuentes, Davao City ABC president Paolo Duterte, boxing stable owner Rey Golingan of General Santos City and Indonesian consul general Lalu Malek.