Boxing show brings out the best, worst

In our weekly boxing show, In This Corner (NBN, Sundays, 7 p.m.), we’ve covered a great number of slam-bang delights that have thrilled fight fans in Cebu, General Santos, Mandaluyong, Binangonan, Biñan, and other places. We’re a traveling show, setting up in town plazas, activity centers or anywhere where there’s space for the square ring and the audience.

Over a decade, we’ve also seen unusual and forgettable fights that had odd or unusual results.
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For example, last weekend in Biñan, the Philippine super bantamweight title fight featuring defending champion  Jhunriel Ramonal and No. 1 contender Ariel Delgado ended in a disappointing technical draw after only the first round. You wait all night for the main event, especially a title fight, and then it turns out to be a downer: Ramonal got accidentally headbutted twice, and Delgado got cut as well. As always, the safety of the fighters is always more important than our entertainment. Ramonal and Delgado will fight again another day, hopefully without any more heads colliding accidentally.
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Then in the same card, there was a comedic battle between Ronelle Ferreras and Nelson Llanos. Ferreras entered the ring with a 10-win, 4-loss, 1-draw record, while Llanos toted a 4-win, 9-loss slate. Ferreras tried desperately to stay inside to cut down Llanos’ reach advantage but ended fighting blind most of the time. Llanos, on the other hand, was interested only in injecting comedy with strange antics that taunted Ferreras or told the crowd he wasn’t hurt at all by Ferreras’ feeble punches. Veteran referee Virgilio Garcia, who doesn’t like fighters horsing around, ended up as the straight guy in the skit as he constantly warned Llanos to behave and follow his commands. What made the fight even more regrettable was that Llanos won by a split decision, earning the surprising nod of two judges. The fight could have done boxing a greater service if it was mercifully declared a draw because neither boxer deserved to win.
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Then, you get one that’s unforgettable. In 10 years of following boxing, it was the first time I saw a referee do nothing more than start and end each round. And that’s perfectly all right. That’s because Merlito Sabillo Jr. and Jetli Purisima decided to do nothing but throw bombs at each other in Bacolod. Referee Ferdinand Estrella, a stickler for rules and sustained action, revealed that it was one of the best fights he’s ever been involved in, although he never separated a clinch nor warned the fighters for any violations. I even jokingly told matchmaker Gerry Garcia during the fight that Estrella could even start each round from outside the ring and it would still be a clean fight. Sabillo went on to win by unanimous decision, but the fight was made more memorable with the nonstop action and the absence of any dirty tactics. Such a fight makes covering the sweet science worth every effort to travel long distances to find the next generation of Filipino champions.