Anuran's new breed

Promoter Elmer Anuran fell in love with boxing by accident.  

In 2003, Anuran’s wife Eileen died of leukemia and he was devastated. They were married only two years. Their daughter Sedric Marga is now eight and son Sebastian, seven.

“I was depressed and looked for something – an outlet – to keep my mind occupied,” said Anuran. “I got into breeding lovebirds, fighting cocks and dogs. At one point, I had 1,000 pairs of lovebirds.”

It wasn’t as if Anuran had nothing else to do. For four years, he worked at FedEx as top official Aglo Martinez’ executive assistant. Anuran eventually set up his own companies dealing in logistics, freight forwarding, information technology and trading. And he has his two kids to look after.

But what got his adrenalin pumping was boxing. In 2005, Anuran started his Touch Gloves stable and became increasingly involved in the fight game. In 2007, Anuran launched his own TV boxing show “Saved By The Bell” and a year later, constructed a gym in his hometown of Agoncillo, Batangas.

“Now, my wife is boxing,” said Anuran. “My goal is to develop solid fighters as a source of inspiration and national pride like Manny Pacquiao. I look for fighters to take care of then when I find the right ones, I sign them to contracts. I want to be active in promoting fights locally so we don’t have to go abroad and depend on foreigners for big bouts. About half my schedule for the day is taken up by boxing. That’s how passionate I’ve become in the sport.”

At the moment, Anuran’s stable lists 11 fighters, six under contract. The biggest names in his roster are unbeaten WBA No. 3 superflyweight contender Drian Francisco, WBO Asia-Pacific superbantamweight champion Niño Magboo, featherweight Lloyd Francisco, undefeated lightweight Al Sabaupan, unbeaten lightflyweight Lolito Sonsona and undefeated featherweight Roberto (Calibre) Gonzales.

Sonsona, 17, is world-ranked contender Eden’s younger brother and former WBO superflyweight champion Marvin’s cousin. Gonzales, 20, is a 5-6 southpaw while Lloyd Francisco, 25, is Drian’s younger brother who was knocked out by Jose Ocampo in his debut but has since bounced back to win nine in a row.

Sabaupan, 21, proved his mettle by outpointing former WBA superfeatherweight title challenger and Mexican lightweight champion Josafat Perez at the Cuneta Astrodome last October. The left-hander turned pro in 2008 and has a record of 10-0-1, with seven KOs.

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Magboo, 22, claimed the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific superbantamweight crown via a unanimous 12-round decision over Aljoe Jaro’s boy Richard Olisa in Lipa City last Jan. 11. Olisa, a southpaw like Magboo, was a lot more experienced than Magboo and boasted of a win over Eden Sonsona for the Philippine superflyweight title two years ago. In a fierce battle of attrition, Magboo pounded out a hard-earned win on points.

The Magboo-Olisa fight is the featured attraction in “Saved By The Bell” this Sunday at 3 p.m. on Solar TV (RPN) with a replay this Monday at 6 p.m. on the Solar Sports cable channel.

Anuran said the weekly TV series is his way of showcasing the talents in his stable. “We bring the show all over the Philippines because we want to test our fighters against the best,” he continued. “We’ve been on the air for two years and we’ve gone to Nueva Ecija, Cagayan de Oro, Puerto Galera, Ilocos Sur, Bulacan, Baguio, Binangonan, Parañaque, Batangas and Mandaluyong. We realize that the only way our show will attract viewers is by putting up quality and competitive fights. That’s the reputation our show has. We give the fans what they want – slam-bang action from start to finish. It’s our commitment to Solar Sports to produce only top-class fights.”

All of Anuran’s fighters, except for Sonsona, live and train in Agoncillo. Sonsona works out at the Wild Card Gym in Parañaque.

“By 7 p.m., Agoncillo shuts down so the fighters get to sleep early,” said Anuran. “We provide living quarters for them. There are no distractions in Agoncillo. They eat, sleep and think boxing. They have nothing to worry about. We take care of their needs. In return, they train hard.”

Drian Francisco, 27, is Anuran’s jewel. He is a win away from clinching a shot at the WBA superflyweight title. Francisco takes on hard-hitting WBA No. 2 contender Ricardo (El Matematico) Nuñez of Panama in a title eliminator at the Ynares Center in Pasig on March 27. The survivor will advance to challenge WBA champion Nobuo Nashiro of Japan.

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 “When I attended the WBO convention in Florida a few years ago, I was approached by matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz about Drian,” said Anuran. “Sampson offered to promote Drian abroad. It was an attractive

 offer. I wouldn’t exert any effort to promote Drian and I could pass on the work to Sampson. But I couldn’t do it to Drian. I wanted to be in control of his future. Last year, Sampson again asked me about Drian who was his first choice to challenge WBO champion Jose Lopez in Ontario. When I turned it down, Marvin Sonsona got the break and won the title. Drian’s time will come and I believe he will be a world champion by the end of this year.”

Anuran said Nunez’ camp has refused to provide videos of the fighter for Francisco and his trainer Benny de la Peña to study.

“We can’t locate videos of Nuñez and his team isn’t sending us any,” said Anuran. “We’ll just have to rely on Drian’s ability to break down his opponent as the fight goes on. Drian’s a thinking fighter, very intelligent, clever and disciplined. He’ll know what to do in the ring. His style reminds me of Prince Naseem Hamed and Sugar Ray Leonard. The Filipino champion whom he resembles is Luisito Espinosa.”

Aside from Francisco, Anuran has big plans for his other fighters. Francisco’s brother Lloyd, who is 5-9, has sparred with world-rated Bernabe Concepcion and Michael Farenas, more than holding his own. Anuran’s dream is for Lloyd to someday face and knock out WBO featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez. Another prospect Magboo is itching to battle unbeaten WBO Asia-Pacific bantamweight titleholder Jundy Maraon of North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Piñol’s Braveheart stable but Anuran said the southpaw called “Pretty Boy” is staying away. Sabaupan is on the verge of invading the overseas market and looks like a future world champion, too.

Anuran, 32, is determined to make a name for his Touch Gloves stable and from the looks of things, he’s on the right track.