QINHUANGDAO, China—Josie Gabuco ignored the lusty and thunderous cheers of the hometown crowd for her opponent Xu Shiqi, then hacked out a thrilling win in the light flyweight finals of the Aiba Women’s World Championships Friday at the Olympic Sports Center here.
Gabuco trailed in the first three rounds, 1-2, 3-5, and 7-8, before breaking the hearts of the Chinese fans with a stronger finish that resulted in a 10-9 decision over Xu.
“It was like fighting thousands of opponents,” said the 25 year-old single mother of a five-year-old boy in Filipino. “The crowd definitely got to me at first, so I was very cautious and tried to come up with an antidote to my shifty opponent.”
The wily Xu, who tied up the Puerto Princesa boxer several times, dropped to the canvass several times as if she was wrestled down. The lady Hungarian referee, however, was wise to the antic and eventually issued a warning to the Chinese boxer in the third round.
Gabuco then started applying pressure on her opponent, unloading damaging straights to the head and uppercuts to the side of her opponent’s body.
The Filipino finally trapped the backpedaling Chinese in a corner and connected with several hits that convinced four of the five judges to give the nod to Gabuco in the fourth round. The judges ruled the fifth round even.
Team manager Karina Picson was in tears when the decision was announced.
“No one deserves it more,” said the AIBA international technical official. “Josie worked long and hard despite personal tribulations, including the sudden loss of her mother last year after a brief struggle with cancer.”
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Ricky Vargas was euphoric.
“We in Abap are happy for Josie and we salute her,” said Vargas. “To have had a part in the making of the first Filipina world champion is a privilege. As our chair, Mr. Manny Pangilinan keeps reminding us, we would like to change the lives of our athletes for the better.”
The other members of the team were boxers Alice Kate Aparri and Nesthy Petecio, coaches Elias Recaido Jr. and Mitchel Martinez and ABAP executive director Ed Picson.