Showing up in Baku

Boxing guru Hermie Rivera blew into town a few days ago and is crying foul over the alleged Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) snob denying his Fil-Am protégé Julian Santos Chua of a chance to try out for the national pool.

Chua, 19, is the 2009 Indiana Golden Gloves middleweight champion and stopped schooling last year to concentrate on pursuing his Olympic dream. He’s itching to fight for the country but the problem is there’s nobody his weight to spar with in the ABAP pool.

Rivera said Chua is down to 152 pounds so he can make it in the welterweight division where the weight range is 64 to 69 kilograms.

The ABAP recently submitted a list of candidates for the national team to vie in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia this November. Wilfredo Lopez and Mico Brina were listed in the welterweight class. There were no entries in the middleweight category. Lopez is in the A roster of the national pool while Brina is in the B.

During the ABAP’s recent training tour in Los Angeles, national coach Pat Gaspi met up with Chua at the Wild Card Gym. Chua’s left hand was injured so he couldn’t spar. But he punched mitts with his right hand.

“I’ve spoken with coach Freddie (Roach) and the four ABAP coaches (Gaspi, Boy Velasco, Ronald Chavez and Roel Velasco),” said Rivera. “They all think Julian has a shot. So why isn’t he being given a chance? He showed what he can do with one hand. Think of what he can do with two. He’s willing to move to Manila and train with the pool. The kid left his home in Indiana to live in an apartment behind the Wild Card Gym. His mother is paying for his expenses. He’s determined.”

Rivera said he understands the slots for the national team to the SEA Games are limited to 10, including women. That will make it almost impossible for Chua to sneak into the lineup. But it’s a different story in the AIBA World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sept. 22-Oct. 10.

In the World Championships, countries may send in unlimited entries and the AIBA expects over 600 to battle in Baku where 92 tickets to the London Olympics will be decided. The top 10 finishers of eight men’s categories and the top six in the heavyweight and superheavyweight divisions will advance. Additionally, 140 berths will be settled in the continental qualifiers next year. Five slots are allocated for the World Series of Boxing winners and eight wildcards will be chosen.

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Rivera said Chua is confident of qualifying if he fights in Baku.

“I want to appeal Julian’s case to the PSC and the POC,” said Rivera. “We’ve got nothing to lose. Here’s a kid who wants to represent our country in boxing. If there’s no limit to the entries in Baku, why not give Julian a shot?”

In a recent article on philboxing.com, Rivera’s son Noel said the formula for synthesizing Olympic gold requires proper ingredients, funding and often, luck. “Filipinos and their sports officials are in need of a plan for they still do not have the coveted medal since the country began competing in the Olympics,” said Noel. “Dating back to the 1928 Amsterdam Games, the Philippines came close to striking the mother lode. Anthony Villanueva (1964 Tokyo) and Onyok Velasco (1996 Atlanta) both gave us the thrill of our lifetime only to lose in the boxing finals. With the 2012 London Games nearing, the majority of Pinoy sports fans are getting worried our prospects will falter again. Understandable, since we do have an ongoing historical drought. Is this an irreversible norm in our sports set-up? Certainly not.”

Noel quoted trainer Freddie Roach as saying, “It’s difficult to win a gold medal but it’s possible with hard work, dedication and proper guidance.”

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If Rivera is so sure of Chua qualifying, maybe, he’ll agree to a payback deal – Chua will pay his own way to Baku but if he qualifies for London, the PSC will reimburse him for all expenses. That’s putting your money where your mouth is. How about it, Hermie?

Rivera was the man who led Morris East and Luisito Espinosa to world championships. Now, he wants to add another feather in his cap, probably the biggest. Rivera dreams of conspiring to bring the first Olympic gold medal to the Philippines. He’s sure that Chua is the man who can make it happen.

“Help is on the way with the entry of renowned sports lovers tasked with the awesome chore of minting our first Olympic gold medal,” said Rivera who singled out Rep. Manny Pacquiao and PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan as the patrons of boxing.