Gabuco bags gold vs Chinese

Manila, Philippines - Josie Gabuco, who loved to spar with her male counterparts at the ABAP Gym, yesterday delivered the country’s first gold medal in AIBA World Women’s Boxing Championships.

Gabuco, 25, probably trains harder and longer than anyone else in the national team. She went against all odds to beat hometown bet Xu Shiqi for the light-flyweight (48 kg) gold.

Gabuco started out slow and trailed her Chinese rival after the first three rounds, 2-1, 5-3 and 8-7. But she found her range in the final round to win by the skin of her teeth, 10-9.

The Chinese crowd at the Olympic Sports Center in Qinhuangdao must have been stunned after Gabuco was declared winner and her hands raised after the very tight contest.

It was the first gold medal in the World Women’s Championships for the Philippines, surpassing the silver won by Annie Albania and the bronze by Gabuco in the 2008 edition.

It’s just bad that Gabuco’s victory did not earn her a slot to the coming London Olympics where only the 51 kg, 60 kg and 75 kg divisions will be contested.

Nesthy Petecio hoped to qualify in the 51 kg class after trimming down from 54 kg. But it proved to be too costly for the Filipina who dropped her opening match.

Gabuco has a four-year-old son. But motherhood just can’t stop her from shining inside the ring. She’s also a winner of back-to-back gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games.

Heading to the finals, Gabuco defeated some tough rivals from Venezuela, Mongolia, Canada and Russia. Easily, she was considered the underdog against her Chinese opponent.

“We in ABAP are happy for Josie and we salute her,” said Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Ricky Vargas in a text message after news of Gabuco’s triumph broke out.

“Her triumph is a testament to hard work, dedication, determination and faith. Josie believed and in turn we believed in her. To have had a part in the making of the first Filipina World Boxing Championships (winner) is a privilege,” he said.

The ABAP leadership, including its chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, knows how to give credit where credit is due. And with the victory, Gabuco stands to receive a hefty cash incentive.

For the SEA Games, ABAP gives away P300,000 for every gold medal. But this is the World Championships, and Gabuco deserves more.

Days before winning the gold in the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia, Gabuco’s mother died of cancer. But she went on to win the gold.

Gabuco said she hardly slept on the eve of the finals bout in last year’s SEA Games as she kept on thinking of her mother, whom she had wanted to gift with a house in Puerto Princesa.

But her mother did not live long to see the house or watch her win the gold in Indonesia, and eventually become the first Filipina gold medalist in the World Women’s Boxing Championships.

That her victory is a testament to hard work, dedication, determination and faith is an understatement.