December 2, 2007: A Great Day for Philippine Boxing

I became a boxing fan when Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao started sending high caliber opponents to the canvass. That was a time that our country (Philippines) was experiencing a crisis, political turmoil and being ravaged by terrorism. The people needed someone to look up to, someone who can give us hope and we found that in the sports of boxing.

Whenever Manny fights in the ring the whole country literally stops, you could walk the streets and find yourself in a ghost town. The streets were clean and quiet, no cars, buses or any other form of transportation, no soul wandering around. The country's heart literally stops beating even to this day.

And because of that he was dubbed as a hero here, not because he wins his fight, but for the fact that, for even a few minutes, he has the power to unite a country.

And with that a lot of aspiring fighters begin to follow his steps, fighting for the pride of the motherland. Last Saturday night fights (Sunday morning in Manila) were a showcase of how good and willing our fighters are in the field of boxing.

Three young champions namely Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire, AJ "Bazooka" Banal, and Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista, gave the country something to be proud of once again.

The Flash, Nonito Donaire, (25 years old) coming off an upset 5th round knockout victory over previously undefeated Vic Darchinyan, faced Luis Maldonado. And starting from the first round clearly dictated the tempo of the fight, agilely ducking the punches and landing power shots to the face and body of his Mexican counterpart. He won via TKO on the 8th round.

Bazooka, AJ Banal, (18 years old) dominated his Mexican rival, Jovanny Soto, with a heavy barrage of power shots and great defensive movement. He won via 9th round knockout, still goes undefeated in 19 fights.

And, Boom Boom, Rey Bautista, (20 years old) coming off a 1st round knockout loss to Mexican Ponce De Leon, proved that he's still in the game by getting a unanimous decision over another Mexican, Antonio Meza, in 12 rounds of grueling, power punching boxing.

Personally, as a Filipino, I am very proud and happy of the outcome. I am not really a good commentator in this field as I am on other topics. But what happened then, motivated me to at least write something for them and their achievement. Though I have watched all their fights, as I have other filipino hopefuls, I was never able to get it going on the theme.

I sincerely wish them luck and continue to pray for the success of all Filipino or "Pinoy" fighters out there. We, the Filipino people, your country, supports you guys 101%.

Keep up the good work, focus and don't forget humility, in which we are known for.