Big blame thrown on Drian Francisco’s father
DRIAN FRANCISCO definitely lost to his Thai foe last Saturday in the first defense of his WBA interim super flyweight title.
But the main reason behind the setback was not the superiority of the opponent. It was due to conflicting instructions that clearly snarled Francisco’s overall focus.
This information was forwarded yesterday to this reporter by a Team Francisco insider who was at ringside in Petchaburi on Saturday.
This informant, who will remain anonymous for now, did not dispute the observation that the power-punching Francisco also lacked the necessary techniques and vital orthodoxy inside the ring.
But the big blame was thrown on the boxer’s father, who kept ordering his son to stay at a safe distance during the bristling encounter.
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On the ride back to Bangkok, narrated our informer, Drian kept blaming his hurting left shoulder for blowing his first title defense against Thai challenger Tepparith Singwancha.
“I can’t punch clearly with my left. Namamaga,” Francisco was quoted as explaining.
But nobody in the team, except maybe for the fighter’s father, believed that the shoulder was to blame, continued our informant.
The original fight plan was laid out: Engage the Thai, whose only weapon was his powerful right. No running away, keep stalking forward.
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Trainer Benny de la Peña, said the informant, felt that the Thai would lose his confidence if Francisco would throw fiery flurries.
He added: The key was for Drian to be aggressive. He wasn’t even hurt when he was knocked down in the second. He fell while backing away. However, Drian opted to stay away from trouble most of the time, throwing petty punches as the Thai started to become more confident.
So what really happened?
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Unknown to Pinoy ring fans, bared our informant, Francisco’s father Deo, who rose as high as No .3 in the OPBF flyweight rankings during his prime, was frantically shouting instructions for his son to keep his distance against Tepparith.
This was totally counter to trainer De la Peña’s original plan.
“He did not want his son to get hurt,” the informant quoted one Pinoy ringsider as saying.
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It was later learned that Deo also joined his son at the training camp in Agoncillo, Batangas three months before the big fight.
Fact was, the hurting shoulder might have been caused by a minor injury incurred while playing basketball, which was a no-no to trainer De la Peña.
Anyway, there were some questions on the scoring.
Drian was ahead in the scorecards up to the eighth round, our informant bared.
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But the next four rounds were given by the judges to Tepparith.
The Japanese judge (Takeshi Shimakawa) didn’t give Drian a single round which was “crazy,” said a foreign sportswriter.
Of course, Drian will be back, maybe three months from now, against a world-ranked foe.
But it’s unclear whether or not Drian’s handlers, led by manager Elmer Anuran, would continue to allow the fighter’s father to muddle up the scenario.
Or is Deo Francisco a necessary ingredient to Drian’s clowning career?
