Vargas to relinquish Abap post; Pacquiao eyed as head

ABAP president Ricky Vargas (right)  during the announcement of Gilas’ final lineup last month. PBA IMAGES

THE ASSOCIATION of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines presidency is up for grabs and Sen. Manny Pacquiao can have it if he wants to.

This developed Tuesday after Abap president Ricky Vargas signified his intention to step down following the Filipino boxers’ disastrous stint in the ongoing Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Lightweight Charly Suarez and light flyweight Rogen Ladon dropped their first bouts, prolonging boxing’s Olympic medal drought.

In a statement, Vargas said that while they gave their best in seven years at the helm of a sport touted as the country’s brightest hope for an Olympic gold, the time is also ripe to turn the baton over to deserving leaders.

“We need new leadership to refresh Abap and inspire our next generation of boxers in the pool,” said Vargas. “We had our share of success in the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games, Asian Games and World Championships but of course the standard is the Olympics and we have been unsuccessful there.”

Suarez dropped his initial outing, a split decision verdict to Great Britain champion  Joe Cordina Saturday night.

Ladon, on the other hand, drew a first round bye, but yielded to Colombian Yuberjen Martinez via unanimous decision Monday.

According to Vargas, Abap secretary general Patrick Gregorio and executive director Ed Picson will soon call for an election. 

“We thank chair MVP (Manny Pangilinan) and the entire Filipino nation for their support to boxing,” said Vargas who, according to reports, is thinking of offering the Abap presidency to Pacquiao, the lone eight-division world boxing champion. With a report from Marc Anthony Reyes