Metro promotion good for boxing

IT’S NEVER easy to stage a major boxing promotion in Metro Manila.

Nobody will buy tickets to watch, they say. There will be more “scholars” who will go, the ones who never ever buy tickets but rely on the freebies of the promoter. You’ve got to have a really big name like Manny Pacquiao to make sure you even recover your shirt when you risk a promotion in the Metro.

Against this depressing grain, ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN went on to promote the 23rd edition of “Pinoy Pride” last weekend at Smart Araneta Coliseum. A boxing card that’s out to give the ALA fighters high-profile exposure, it’s a vigorously bold move to keep boxing in the limelight outside of Pacquiao.

It can’t be always Pacquiao and we all know that he can’t go on forever. He’ll remain an icon in the same way Michael Jordan and David Beckham are remembered for their sports achievements. But we do need other names that will keep the Philippines at the forefront of boxing.

The new heroes will most likely never attain Pacquiao’s status but having them fighting on international stages is always a boost for Philippine sports.

The VIP, lower box and patron sections were relatively filled and a few more in the upper sections would have been most welcome. But the fact that fans actually lined up at the box office to buy tickets is an indication that there is hope for promotions in the Metro.

I got a ticket for the event, something I always do when a sporting contest catches my fancy. I could hear the fans lined up whispering about the prospects of the Filipino fighters that night. The “Filipinos Kontra Latinos” international flavor definitely helped stir interest and there were some stars to help the evening.

Donnie “Ahas” Nietes lived up to his stellar billing by knocking out Mexican Sammy Gutierrez in the third round. This ended the one-sided contest as the Mexican offered nothing after being floored twice earlier in the first round. The TKO was Nietes’ 31st win, 18th by KO.

All the other Filipinos won against their Latin American rivals with only Merlito “Tiger” Sabillo salvaging a draw against Nicaraguan Carlos Buitrago. The audience, though, craved for more knockouts by the Filipino fighters. The fans fully understand when a boxer is crafty enough to use his smarts to score heavily or elude being hit.

And yet the knockout is a convincing if not violent triumph that fans want to have their fair share of in a fight card.

Having boxing promotions during the weekend, whether they are international in texture or filled purely with a local cast, are good for boxing. Fighters get to work and build their reputations. Promoters meet to talk shop and compare notes on foreign contacts. And above all, Filipino boxing fans get their share of live action because not everybody can go to Las Vegas or Macau.

EXERCISE TIME. Prolife Philippines Run Bike and Live unfolds at 5 a.m. tomorrow at SM Marikina. Wake up early for a chance to sweat it out with family and friends.