flipbjefrox
12-20-2006, 12:50 PM
FILIPINO GETS ONCE IN A LIFETIME TITLE SHOT & TYPHOON RELIEF HELP NEEDED!
19 December, 2006 by Jason Aniel
JOCKEYS TOO BIG TO FIGHT AT 105 LBS!
San Francisco, CA-This Saturday (Friday in the U.S), IBF minimumweight titlist Muhammad Rachman makes his second defense of his belt against Filipino Benjie Sorolla. The bout will take place in Rachman’s backyard of Jakarta, Indonesia. Sorolla currently holds the WBO Inter-Continental title and is ranked 14th by the IBF. Rachman holds an impressive record of 60-5-5 with 30 KOs, where as Sorolla brings a mediocre 21-10-3 (6 KOs), which is not even an official record, to the dance! This will be the second time the two have fought as Rachman won the first bout over Sorolla by a ten round unanimous decision.
RACHMAN HANDLERS HAND PICK SOROLLA
Undefeated since 1998, Rachman has fought only two bouts in almost as many years and is looking to go “easy” against the inconsistent Sorolla, who is from Municipality of Magalona (close to Cebu). Handlers of Rachman sent the fight proposal to matchmaker Bebot Elorde, which Sorolla’s team accepted immediately. Sorolla has been mainly a club fighter, fighting as often as possible. Benji did not really begin to be serious about his career until the middle of 2004, in a bout which I covered during my visit to Manila that year. In that bout, Sorolla finally built an identity as an aggressive puncher (with limited power), who likes to wear his opponent down over the course of a fight. Marty Elorde, Sorolla’s manager and head of the Elorde complex in Paranaque City, where Sorolla trains, likes to compare his prize fighter to ex-WBC champ Rolando Navarrete.
SOROLLA TRYING TO ERASE A “BAD” IMAGE
Elorde, son of Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, claims, “Benjie is a very confident fighter like Navarrete. Some people say he’s ****y and arrogant, but I think that makes him a better fighter. Remember, people said the same thing about Manny Pacquiao.” Sorolla has built a reputation as the “bad boy” of Marty’s gym but a title win would eliminate that stigma that has followed Sorolla throughout his career. Sorolla has also been known to fight down or up to his level of competition. This was evident in his last two losses against other R.P club fighters as well as his most recent win as an underdog against a Thai fighter.
TEAM SOROLLA IN INDONESIA ALREADY
Sony Sangalang has been given the task to train Sorolla for his first title bid. Sony is the son of Toti Sangalang, who trained former world champions Luisito Espinosa and Morris East at a point in their careers. The son has been compared by many experts in the Philippines to be as good as his father, who is highly touted. With Team Sorolla Indonesia right now, there is currently no planned television coverage in the Philippines. Therefore, stay tuned to www.RingTalk.com to get the results as soon as they become available.
2006 NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR FILIPINO BOXING!
At the end of the month, I’ll provide my report card on the top 5 overall boxers in the Philippines (not named Manny Pacquiao) as well as an overall summary at what has been for the most part a disappointing 2006 for Philippines boxing (again minus Pacquiao). This coming weekend, Benjie Sorolla’s only chance to leave Indonesia with the title is by knockout. Jakarta is the same city where Juan Manuel Marquez, a “pound for pound” fighter, clearly won nine of the twelve rounds against Chris John, and then only to be shafted by a unanimous “heist” against him.
FILIPINO’S NEVER WIN BIG IN INDONESIA!
There was a reason why Rachman’s people picked Sorolla and it’s up to Benjie to be the first Filipino to win a title in Indonesia. With the popularity of boxing in the Philippines at an all time as well as the more and more exposure for R.P boxers in the United States, no Filipino fighter has won a world title since Pacquiao, who is right now an exception rather than a trend in terms of Philippine boxing dominance, won the IBF gold in 2001. Therefore a Sorolla win would prove to be a historic win in the recent wave of Philippine boxing popularity.
PACLAND SPONSERS BICOL RELIEF FUND
On December 1st, a major typhoon stuck the Bicol region, located North of Cebu in the Visayan Islands, killing many, in addition to causing millions of dollars in damage. Philboxing.com or PACLAND as it’s mostly referred to has endorsed an effort to bring relief through donations from the over 20,000 message board members to Bicol. During the holidays, it’s important to remember, especially for Filipino-Americans, that any donation can greatly impact the people of the Bicol region and a simple click of a mouse can do that! Click on the link for further instructions.
19 December, 2006 by Jason Aniel
JOCKEYS TOO BIG TO FIGHT AT 105 LBS!
San Francisco, CA-This Saturday (Friday in the U.S), IBF minimumweight titlist Muhammad Rachman makes his second defense of his belt against Filipino Benjie Sorolla. The bout will take place in Rachman’s backyard of Jakarta, Indonesia. Sorolla currently holds the WBO Inter-Continental title and is ranked 14th by the IBF. Rachman holds an impressive record of 60-5-5 with 30 KOs, where as Sorolla brings a mediocre 21-10-3 (6 KOs), which is not even an official record, to the dance! This will be the second time the two have fought as Rachman won the first bout over Sorolla by a ten round unanimous decision.
RACHMAN HANDLERS HAND PICK SOROLLA
Undefeated since 1998, Rachman has fought only two bouts in almost as many years and is looking to go “easy” against the inconsistent Sorolla, who is from Municipality of Magalona (close to Cebu). Handlers of Rachman sent the fight proposal to matchmaker Bebot Elorde, which Sorolla’s team accepted immediately. Sorolla has been mainly a club fighter, fighting as often as possible. Benji did not really begin to be serious about his career until the middle of 2004, in a bout which I covered during my visit to Manila that year. In that bout, Sorolla finally built an identity as an aggressive puncher (with limited power), who likes to wear his opponent down over the course of a fight. Marty Elorde, Sorolla’s manager and head of the Elorde complex in Paranaque City, where Sorolla trains, likes to compare his prize fighter to ex-WBC champ Rolando Navarrete.
SOROLLA TRYING TO ERASE A “BAD” IMAGE
Elorde, son of Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, claims, “Benjie is a very confident fighter like Navarrete. Some people say he’s ****y and arrogant, but I think that makes him a better fighter. Remember, people said the same thing about Manny Pacquiao.” Sorolla has built a reputation as the “bad boy” of Marty’s gym but a title win would eliminate that stigma that has followed Sorolla throughout his career. Sorolla has also been known to fight down or up to his level of competition. This was evident in his last two losses against other R.P club fighters as well as his most recent win as an underdog against a Thai fighter.
TEAM SOROLLA IN INDONESIA ALREADY
Sony Sangalang has been given the task to train Sorolla for his first title bid. Sony is the son of Toti Sangalang, who trained former world champions Luisito Espinosa and Morris East at a point in their careers. The son has been compared by many experts in the Philippines to be as good as his father, who is highly touted. With Team Sorolla Indonesia right now, there is currently no planned television coverage in the Philippines. Therefore, stay tuned to www.RingTalk.com to get the results as soon as they become available.
2006 NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR FILIPINO BOXING!
At the end of the month, I’ll provide my report card on the top 5 overall boxers in the Philippines (not named Manny Pacquiao) as well as an overall summary at what has been for the most part a disappointing 2006 for Philippines boxing (again minus Pacquiao). This coming weekend, Benjie Sorolla’s only chance to leave Indonesia with the title is by knockout. Jakarta is the same city where Juan Manuel Marquez, a “pound for pound” fighter, clearly won nine of the twelve rounds against Chris John, and then only to be shafted by a unanimous “heist” against him.
FILIPINO’S NEVER WIN BIG IN INDONESIA!
There was a reason why Rachman’s people picked Sorolla and it’s up to Benjie to be the first Filipino to win a title in Indonesia. With the popularity of boxing in the Philippines at an all time as well as the more and more exposure for R.P boxers in the United States, no Filipino fighter has won a world title since Pacquiao, who is right now an exception rather than a trend in terms of Philippine boxing dominance, won the IBF gold in 2001. Therefore a Sorolla win would prove to be a historic win in the recent wave of Philippine boxing popularity.
PACLAND SPONSERS BICOL RELIEF FUND
On December 1st, a major typhoon stuck the Bicol region, located North of Cebu in the Visayan Islands, killing many, in addition to causing millions of dollars in damage. Philboxing.com or PACLAND as it’s mostly referred to has endorsed an effort to bring relief through donations from the over 20,000 message board members to Bicol. During the holidays, it’s important to remember, especially for Filipino-Americans, that any donation can greatly impact the people of the Bicol region and a simple click of a mouse can do that! Click on the link for further instructions.