ABAP to set up training centers

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) chairman Manny V. Pangilinan said the other day four regional training centers will be established to support a widespread talent identification program that is the cornerstone of a long-term development plan in the quest for an Olympic gold medal.

Pangilinan said it is in boxing where there is a high probability of success in capturing the country’s first Olympic gold medal and every effort will be made to craft a well-thought-out plan that has the support of the sport’s stakeholders and major corporate sponsors. An essential element in the plan is funding the national team’s training here and abroad.

The regional training centers will be in Cebu, with assistance from ALA Boxing Gym owner Tony Aldeguer, for the Visayas, Davao for Mindanao, Metro Manila and San Fernando or Angeles City in Pampanga for Luzon. The ABAP gym in Baguio City will be retained for the national pool.

ABAP president Ricky Vargas and secretary-general Patrick Gregorio began a nationwide tour to connect with stakeholders, initially in Baguio last Wednesday and were in Davao and Cebu the next day. They conferred with stakeholders in Bacolod last Friday. The tour is in preparation for the ABAP Congress to be held on Jan. 22 in Bacolod during the National Open.

Pangilinan said Manny Pacquiao’s success in boxing is an inspiration to Filipinos everywhere and he is confident with the ABAP’s approach of setting up regional training centers, more prospects will be discovered to eventually follow in the ring icon’s footsteps.

The ABAP’s ultimate goal is to capture the first Olympic gold medal, a dream that has eluded the Philippines since joining the Summer Games in 1924. Boxing has produced five of the country’s nine Olympic medals so far and the closest to a gold were the silvers claimed by featherweight Anthony Villanueva in 1964 and lightflyweight Onyok Velasco in 1996.

Vargas said firming up the ABAP organization is a priority and once it is set, the next step is to reach out to the AIBA where some “healing” must be done in the same way that the SBP made amends with FIBA. Pangilinan and Vargas were instrumental in re-establishing the country’s relationship with FIBA after a two-year suspension. They will spearhead a similar bonding with AIBA.

AIBA recently suspended former ABAP president Manny Lopez from its executive committee for protesting the conduct of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games boxing championships in Thailand where Filipino finalists hardly put up a fight. ABAP’s censure, however, will be disputed by the Philippine Olympic Committee before the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sports. POC chairman Rep. Monico Puentevella said AIBA officials swore no reprisals if Filipino finalists went on with their bouts in the SEA Games and the suspension, which came a year after the fact, was a shock.

“We will introduce the new leadership to AIBA, particularly its president Dr. Ching Kuo Wu of Taiwan,” said Vargas. “We will try to mend fences. We know the importance of maintaining good relations with AIBA and we will do our best in supporting AIBA’s objectives.”

Last Jan. 2, Pangilinan and Vargas met with former ABAP chairman Rep. Raul Daza of Northern Samar and Lopez to identify the priorities in the organization’s development plan.

The year’s first ABAP tournament is the National Open, which is expected to draw about 500 participants in the youth, junior, senior and women’s categories on Jan. 16-24 in Bacolod. The age groups are elite for men and women between 19 and 34, youth for boys and girls between 17 and 18, juniors for boys and girls 15-6, school boys between 13-14 and kids 11-12. ABAP tournament director Roger Fortaleza said aside from individual awards, there will be team championships at stake. About 35 to 40 squads are expected to participate with the Philippine Army the odds-on favorite with national pool mainstays Godfrey Castro, Joan Tipon, Wilfredo Lopez, Charly Suarez and Genebert Basadre. The Navy will be bannered by Joejin Ladon.

Fortaleza said the national pool of some 50 fighters, including 10 females, will display their wares in Bacolod. World Cup lightflyweight titlist and two-time Olympian Harry Tañamor will participate if the swelling in his right hand is gone.

It is in the elite division where the competition will be fiercest. The elite men will fight three rounds of three minutes each, the new FIBA format. A fight will be automatically stopped after three knockdowns in a round or an accumulation of four. The elite women will fight four rounds of two minutes each.

Fortaleza said fighters will compete in 10 elite men’s divisions from pinweight (46 kilograms) to heavyweight (over 80 kilograms). While pinweight is not recognized in the Asian Games and Olympics, it is a regular category in the SEA Games.

Fortaleza said the National Open intends “to widen the identification and recruitment of potentially talented boxers who will be scientifically trained and molded into highly competitive athletes (to) represent and bring honors to the country in international competitions.”

Bantamweight prospect Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. has been invited to join the tournament after he decided to delay his pro debut.