Aldeguer's diamonds in the rough

Donnie Nietes, Milan Melindo, A. J. Banal, Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista and Mark Jason Melligen are among the well-known gems of the ALA boxing stable of Cebu. But not too many fans know that two diamonds-in-the-rough are slowly inching their way to the top of the ALA echelon. They’re both Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) champions, ready to move forward in their quest for world titles.

One is OPBF flyweight champion and WBC No. 4 contender Rocky Fuentes. The other is OPBF superbantamweight titlist Roli Gasca, rated No. 15 by the WBC. 

Fuentes, 25, has a 29-6-2 record, with 17 KOs, and is unbeaten in his last 10 outings. Last August, he pounded out a unanimous 12-round decision over Hirofumi Mukai to retain his OPBF crown in Osaka. It was his fourth successful defense, third in Japan. Fuentes was so dominant in outclassing Mukai that Japanese judge Masahiro Noda scored it 118-110 for the Filipino despite the notoriety of hometown decisions.

Gasca, 22, has won his last six bouts. Last August, he scored a majority 12-round decision over Hiromasa Ohashi to claim the OPBF superbantamweight diadem in Aichi. Surprisingly, the Japanese judge Masakazu Murase saw it 116-112 for Gasca while Korean judge Kwang Ki Min had it 115-all and Filipino judge Noel Flores, 116-112 for the battler from Barili, Cebu. His record is 17-1, with three KOs. One of his knockouts came at Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat’s expense in taking the PABA (Pan Asia Boxing Association) bantamweight crown in Buriram, Thailand.

Only two other Filipinos now reign as OPBF champions, bantamweight Rolly (Matsushita) Lunas and superfeatherweight Ronald Pontillas. Michael Landero recently relinquished his OPBF minimumweight title to face Hekkie Budler for the vacant IBO crown in South Africa.

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ALA Boxing owner Tony Aldeguer said despite outstanding wins by Fuentes and Gasca, they remain virtually “incognito” in their own country. Aldeguer said inevitably, they will earn world title cracks and enjoy the widespread recognition that Nietes, Melindo, Banal, Bautista and Melligen painstakingly gained through the years.

Aldeguer said Fuentes, a devout Iglesia Ni Kristo follower, nearly gave up boxing after knocking out John Eman Juarez in 2003. Juarez was counted out and rushed to the hospital on a stretcher in a state of unconsciousness. Doctors performed brain surgery on Juarez to remove a blood clot but the fighter died without regaining his senses four days after the fight. With the memory of Juarez’ death haunting him, Fuentes was hardly as ferocious in losing back-to-back fights in Thailand and drawing with unheralded Greg Mangan several months later. 

“Rocky was never the same after that tragedy,” recalled Aldeguer. “He suffered four more setbacks and had a roller-coaster career until he started regaining his confidence and scored his first notable win in Japan by outpointing Yuki Nasu (in October 2006) and six months later, won the Philippine flyweight championship by stopping Benedict Suico in eight rounds. That was his first title and it boosted his morale only to be aborted by a split decision loss to Richie Mepranum (in December 2007).”

 Aldeguer said the loss to Mepranum woke up Fuentes who bounced back to win five in a row, including three inside the distance, before capturing the OPBF title via a majority 12-round decision over Masafumi Okubo in March 2010. Within 90 days, Fuentes was back in Tokyo to stake his crown against Shigetaka Ikehara and registered an emphatic victory by a knockout in the 11th round.

“To prove his dominance over Japanese fighters, Rocky traveled all the way to Nagoya and halted hometown hero Yasuto Aritomi and 60 days later, defended his OPBF title again with another abbreviated win over Thai Inthanon Sitchamuang in Cebu,” continued Aldeguer. 

Fuentes handily decisioned Indonesia Jimmy Gobel in a tune-up before dusting off Mukai. “In just a span of one year and a half, Rocky successfully defended his title four times, a feat that only few Filipino OPBF champions have achieved, more so that his three title defenses were done in his opponents’ hometowns,” said Aldeguer. “Rocky is now highly rated in all the world boxing bodies and is aiming to challenge for the world championship when the opportunity comes his way.”

Once asked by the Japanese press what makes him strong as a fighter, Fuentes said, “I’m strong because I know God is with me when I fight and I always train hard and do my best in training.” Before turning pro in 2003, Fuentes was a mainstay of the ALA amateur boxing team and had won several national championships. He began fighting when he was only nine.

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Aldeguer said Gasca claimed two prestigious regional crowns (PABA bantamweight and OPBF superbantamweight) when nobody seemed to care or take notice. Gasca was a former ALA gym caretaker who fought two years as an amateur then made his pro debut in 2007. With only two fights as a pro, Gasca joined the ABS-CBN search for a new boxing idol and battled his way to the finals, defeating Jerome Bantog for the top price of P50,000.

Gasca was unbeaten in 12 bouts when he lost a split decision to Albert Alcoy in 2010. The defeat to Alcoy came a month after Gasca had picked up a victory in Thailand so it was a bitter pill to swallow. But the loss only spurred Gasca to train harder, fight harder. He outpointed tough Jesse Albarracin and world-rated Jason Egera to reemerge as a serious contender. Then came the fight against Tabtimdaeng.

 “The Thais took a gamble on Roli, confident that with only two KOs in his record at the time, it would easy sailing for the fearsome champion,” said Aldeguer. “It turned out to be a massacre as Roli mauled Tabtimdaeng and floored him twice, forcing the referee to stop it in the sixth round. After two tune-ups in Cebu, Roli was ready to challenge Ohashi for the OPBF superbantamweight title. Roli won a convincing decision in Ohashi’s hometown. With two titles under his belt, we plan to give Roli more exposure against formidable Latin opponents and hopefully, bring his career to the same level as Boom Boom, A. J. and Milan and ultimately, challenge for the world crown and hopefully give us another world champion.”

Gasca is slated to defend his OPBF 122-pound crown against Yukinori Oguni in Kobe on Nov. 3. The 5-8 Oguni, 23, has a 6-0 record, with two KOs, and holds a win over Filipino Eric Rapada.