Ricky Vargas–his own Abap truth squad

SACRAMENTO, California—Are his eyes on the prize—a second term as president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines?

Ricky Vargas isn’t saying, but he is obviously doing all the spadework leading to the association’s elections in Bago City on Oct. 20.

Just this week, Vargas turned himself into a one-man truth squad to counter what he perceives as a campaign based on misrepresenting his and Abap’s record.

He is not sitting back and let the other guys inflict some hurt. So far the “other guys” mentioned by the sports media are almost exclusively limited to Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia.

Losing no time, Vargas has fired off a letter to Garcia, seeking to clarify not to vilify.

Richie made a big stink recently—he was the source for the Inquirer and the Philippine Star about the alleged favoritism in Abap’s choice of boxers for the national pool.

Not only did Garcia score the Abap on bias, as reported by the two competing daily newspapers. He also said in so many words that since the boxing body’s rhetoric does not match its record—Richie is poised to stage his own grassroots search for potential members of the boxing team.

Such a move by the agency that holds the purse strings for the national sports associations could be interpreted as duplicating the NSAs’ functions and, or worse, meddling in their affairs.

I have reached out to Garcia who has yet to respond. Meanwhile a top Vargas lieutenant tells me Richie has since denied that he singled out the Abap and that he pointed to a “bata-bata” system in amateur boxing. Garcia has explained that he was merely relaying suggestions to strengthen the selection process.

In short, Richie is claiming that he was at the center of unlikely occurrence—that he was misquoted by two rival scribes at the same time.

In his letter to Richie, Ricky wanted to know “if indeed you singled out Abap regarding mode of training, talent identification and grassroots development.” Vargas told Garcia point-blank that his attribution by the Inquirer and the Star “put us in a bad light.”

A national boxing qualifier run by the PSC and espoused by Richie would be a xerox of the regional boxoffs already staged in earnest by the Abap, says Vargas. “I feel this would be a duplication of the functions of our NSA, but if you really need to do this, so be it.”

On the idea of pairing national boxers discovered by the PSC against those selected by the Abap, Vargas said the notion would “discourage neophytes since they are invariably beaten badly by the nationals.” Mismatches are also “potentially dangerous,” according to Ricky.

Vargas also said the Abap has worked closely with the famed ALA Boxing Club in Cebu City; that two club talents—Milan Melindo and AJ Banal were never left out of the boxing pool. These two boxers turned professional in 2005, “way before we took over Abap in 2009.”

The Abap under Vargas has fallen short of its avowed goal—to win a medal again, including the country’s elusive first gold where it matters most—the Olympic Games.

Nevertheless, Vargas in his letter ticked off Abap’s feathers in its cap during his four-year term. As a performing NSA, Ricky proclaimed that boxing has harvested a crop of medals at the Asian Games, two world championships and the mother of all barangay leagues—the Southeast Asian Games.