Pinoy pugs leave for Cuba today

MANILA, Philippines - A gruelling 22-day grind awaits nine Filipino fighters who leave today for Havana to prepare for the World Championships in Milan on Sept. 1-13 and the Southeast Asian Games in Laos late this year.

ABAP (Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines) executive director Ed Picson heads the delegation, which lists pinweight (45 kgs.) Gerson Nietes Jr., lightflyweight (48 kg.) Harry Tañamor, flyweight (51 kgs.) Rey Saludar, flyweight Aston Francis Palicte, bantamweight (54 kgs.) Joan Tipon, featherweight (57 kgs.) Charly Suarez, lightweight (60 kgs.) Joegin Ladon, lightwelterweight (64 kgs.) Genebert Basadre and lightwelterweight James Boy Vicera.

The fighters are a mix of youngsters – Palicte, Vicera and Nietes are teenagers – and veterans. The oldest is Tañamor who turns 31 on Aug. 20.

Head coach Pat Gaspi will join the group with Cuban consultants Eduardo Steyners and Dagoberto Rojas.

“While many other countries have come up to challenge Cuban supremacy, they are still looked upon as the standard by which all others are judged,” said Picson. “Our Cuban consultants tell us there are tournaments and sparring sessions available in Cuba almost on a daily basis. This should prove very useful in our boxers’ efforts at sharpening their skills.”

An initial list of 16 fighters was cut down to nine, five of whom will proceed to Milan with Gaspi.

“This will be 22 days of hard training,” said Gaspi who won a silver and two bronzes in the Southeast Asian Games in 1981, 1983 and 1989 in three different divisions. “We’ll get a lot of sparring. Our consultants will book us slots to compete in provincial and regional tournaments, similar to our Go-For-Gold format. This will make us ready for the World Championships.”

The 15th edition of the biennial World Championships is expected to draw the largest pool of participants ever as more than 500 fighters from over 100 countries are competing in the 11-day conclave. The bouts will be held at the 11,500-seat Mediolanum Forum, a 20,000 square-meter covered facility that is used for swimming, ice skating, squash, archery and martial arts.

Italy got the AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe) nod over Korea to host this year’s World Championships. In 2011, Busan will host the event. Cameroon, Trinidad and Tobago and Uzbekistan had expressed interest to host this year but later withdrew.

Over 500 matches in 11 weight classes will be staged. The Philippines will be represented in the lightflyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and lightwelterweight categories.

Assistant coach Ronald Chavez will skip the Cuba trip and proceed directly to Milan from Manila.

In the previous World Championships in Chicago two years ago, the Philippines sent Tañamor, Tipon, Suarez, Basadre, flyweight Violito Payla, lightwelterweight Delfin Boholst and welterweight Wilfredo Lopez. Four bowed out in their first bouts, namely, Tipon, Suarez, Boholst and Lopez. Tañamor won four outings then lost to China’s Zuo Shiming in the lightflyweight finals to settle for the silver. Payla and Basadre fell a win shy of reaching the quarterfinals.

Host Italy is tipped to make a big splash after collecting four medals in Chicago and three at the Beijing Olympics last year. In Chicago, 19 countries shared in the 44 medals with Russian at the top of the list, bagging three golds, three silvers and two bronzes. China pocketed a gold and four bronzes to emerge the most productive Asian country. Other Asian nations with at least a medal were Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Mongolia, Philippines, Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Gaspi said the fighters could’ve used more overseas exposure but the ABAP was set back due to lack of funding from the PSC, cancelling two tournaments in Cuba last March and another in Kazakhstan.

Gaspi said to keep busy, the fighters worked overtime on conditioning, technique and tactics in Baguio.

“It may be a blessing in disguise that we had to stay home,” he continued. “The boys are hungry to fight and they’re fresh. After our training in Cuba, we’ll be just right for Milan.”