ESB Tambayan, Piniks Edition - official Pinoy boxing roundup

Irish, Aussie, Japanese, and Polish boxing all have giant dedicated threads with posts numbering in quadruple or even quintuple digits. There hasn't been one for the embattled Filipino contingent (for so long, perhaps to an unjust degree, conflated with the Pacquiao fan-base embroiled with Mayweather's in years of disruptive flame-wars) in a long time now.

So welcome - or welcome back. (I still firmly believe this emoticon ought to be named the :bula: after @bulakenyo, who brought it to the admins' attention)

Now, let's take stock of the current scene. Pac-Man is winding down. This year he will either rematch Horn, or face his BobFather's new cash-cow if Crawford beats Horn first - or maybe he'll go the McGregor route attempting to one-up his old rival PBF. Either way, another trip or two into the ring, and by 2019 he will be in his forties, rich, and likely have scratched the "fighting itch" down to a tolerable baseline so he can focus on politics & family. So whom else does that leave to carry the blue, scarlet, white & gold mantle in his stead?

We've got Nonito Donaire still trucking. He debuted when Pac was a former (then just 1 division) world champ already, six years a veteran of the sport, campaigning in his fifth weight class with a record of 32-2 (23) - and yet Donaire is no spring chicken himself. The Flash is now 35 and heading into a crossroads showdown with Carl Frampton. Losing here probably spells the end of the road for the maestro counter-puncher, now in his own 5th weight class. If he springs the upset, however, there is a chance the prize could be a crack at WBO featherweight champ Óscar Valdez (whom Donaire was supposed to meet ten months ago, so maybe this is fate circling back around...if he gets past the Jackal).

We've got Donnie "Ahas" Nietes, also 35, putting the finishing touches on a career that has been much quieter than Donaire's but perhaps no less HOF worthy - maybe the most lengthily* if not severely underrated man (*in terms of how long the media outside the Philippines has ignored him, proportionate to his talent and in-ring accomplishments) in the sport. He takes on Cotón Reveco next month in what should be a two-way highly technical chess match. Being a near-contemporary of Pacquiao and Donaire, however, and originating from the same flyweight range - he is probably nearing the last chapter. He is clearly the best flyweight in the world at the moment and has nothing more to prove after 15 years in the ring - going undefeated in the last fourteen of those!

Speaking of flyweights - Donaire's old nemesis (shame they never fought professionally) Brian "Hawaiian Punch" Viloria is still hanging around. He's challenging Artem Dalakian in a few weeks for the vacant WBA title, which could be the shot in the arm his legacy sorely needs. An even more dramatic boost would be taking a gamble and jumping to super flyweight, hoping Chocolatito has been more ruined by the consecutive Wangek losses than he's letting on, and perhaps striking while the iron still burns to get some cold revenge for the loss he dealt Viloria in 2015.

Up one division, we've got Jerwin Ancajas set to make his fourth defense of the IBF world title exactly two weeks from tomorrow. A lot of knowledgeable boxing people are very high on him, and he's riding a hell of a wave of good form, unbeaten in just shy of six years. Speaking of that one loss...

It came at the hands of Mark Anthony Geraldo. The bull-strong, fiery southpaw is experiencing a rough patch, losing four of his last seven, but he's still a dangerous fringe player and dark horse IMO.

Then, we've got Geraldo's coach @ the Elorde Gym in Manila - one Edison Berwela. He's a journeyman, with a record so deep in the red you wouldn't expect to ever see his name mentioned in the same breath as greats like Pacquiao, Donaire, and Nietes - but the upset he scored last night was the sweetest triumph Pinoy boxing has seen in ages. Read about it here: https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/thiranan-matsali-vs-edison-berwela-rbr.600450/#post-18975051

Tomorrow, another Filipino journeyman has the opportunity to score an upset on the road over a much younger man with hometown advantage, when Glenn Porras goes to Mexico to meet Emanuel Navarrete in a beIN Sport Español main event. Navarrete has a tidy puncher's record but Porras will be a major step up for him.

That's enough to start...take it away, kaibigang!

 

My thread is more inclusive. Journeymen and Tomato cans welcomed here (or at least guys with the ring name "Tomato").

You'll note the eight names in my OP were pretty diverse, selected from all walks of the game. Three surefire Hall of Fame inductees (at least I hope so, in Ahas' case), a faded elite who never quite reached their plane, a current belt holder, a current fringe contender, a trial horse with a lopsided defeat to victory ratio, and one tweener (not quite a fringe contender but not yet relegated to gatekeeper status). That was intentional. This isn't meant to be a "leave a bookmark here so you can return later and brag about how you predicted so and so's rise to greatness first" type of thread (@CST80 makes plenty of those for the rest of us, hiyoooo! ) - just a celebration of and free zone to chat about Pinoy boxing in general.

 

How are Gerry's kids doing? (his nephews, that is)

I lost track a whole ago.

 

As long as he's on a roll and in the mood for popping eighteen year old cherries (or should I say Cherry Tomatoes :) - my new favorite losing-record fighter Berwela should target Carl Jammes "Wonder Boy" Martin, the current national bantamweight champ of the Philippines.

His record is just as padded as Matsali's. Equal substance, and less than half the quantity of experience.

 

I was sad to see that my dude Czar of Bohol lost recently, snapping a decade-long undefeated streak (ever since his scary brain clot after the Mick Katsidis war). Did anyone see that? Was it a legit knockout or some Aussie skullduggery? Is this Portillo guy any good or is Amonsot just worn out?

 

Ignored this comment earlier, because...pssh, sucka please. This is clearly not an example of your "serious" boxing posts, I hope.

Anyway, you want to get into prodigious talents with futures, we've got (Jerwin Ancajas notwithstanding, though I think you'll find most disagree with you there):
Magsayo
Petalcorin
Tapales
Servania
the Pagara bros
the Canoy bros
Aston Palicte currently 24-2 (20)
Jhack Tepora currently 21-0 (16)

...all in their 20's; even Jhonriel Casimero is still only 27 even though it feels like he's been around forever. Heck, I never thought much of him and think he was horrifically overrated last year for being in the right place at the right time a couple of times, but Melindo is halfway decent at the end of the day and is 29, with probably a few years left in the mix.

...and who knows how many up and comers are currently learning the ropes or about to walk into a gym for the first time, scrawny teenagers you won't hear about for another year or two but who could end up winning titles. Boxing is huge in the PI, and it was long before Pac-Man fever started (hell, even before his grandparents were born*, Pancho Villa was a world champ and global household name) and something tells me it will continue long after he retires.




* Oh you thought I hadn't done my homework? Guess again. http://fil-gen-pro.blogspot.com/2012/11/tracing-manny-pacquiaos-and-my-friend.html

 

Does anyone know if KJ Cataraja is still pursuing the sport, or did he complete his degree in criminology and get a dayjob in that field?

Last fought in September, nothing on the horizon..

 

Well, brave effort from Porras but turns out Navarrete's power appears to be real indeed...

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