INSIDE SPORTS/Ronnie Nathanielsz

There is one thing you must give respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer and his son Michael Aldeguer and their ALA Boxing Promotions staff credit for – unquestioned style in presenting a fight card.

That the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN was part of the equation added another dimension of class and undoubted competence in telecasting a major boxing event not just nationwide but through its widely known global network – The Filipino Channel – which, in the case of last Saturday’s “Judgment Day” card, was carried “live” in the Middle-East, Europe and Australia.

The plush Waterfront Hotel ballroom lends itself to a top level presentation but in setting it up to meet the high standards we have come to associate with big-time boxing events in the US was a tribute in itself to ALA Promotions.

But as we have always maintained, the actual fights are the key to success and fight fans, many of whom were foreigners, couldn’t have asked for anything better especially given the recent events at the Cebu coliseum where the main events were unmitigated disasters from a boxing standpoint.

That despite the recent disappointments fight fans filled the Waterfront ballroom and cheered on as one fight after another provided both action and quality was a tribute to the fact that the reputation of the Aldeguer father-and-son tandem to provide top class fight cards had preceded them. The fans knew that the match-ups were sound and the action would be exciting.

Z “The Dream” Gorres who should most definitely have been WBO world super flyweight champion if not for the horrible split decision that robbed him of the title when he fought Fernando Montiel in February 2007,  looked relaxed and comfortable as a bantamweight. His first appearance at 118 pounds also showed that the stylish southpaw had added some much-needed power in his punches.

Roberto Carlos Leyva, the former world champion who had met some elite minimum, light flyweight and bantamweight champions and top contenders was no pushover. He had 20 knockouts in 25 wins and besides that, according to his trainer and former world bantamweight and super bantamweight champion Raul Perez,  had the fighting heart of a Mexican warrior. Indeed, it was that heart that kept him standing for seven rounds as Gorres nailed him with terrific combinations before Perez decided it was a lost cause and waved the white towel of surrender.

For Gorres, his dream of a world title lives on and our fervent hope is that he will ultimately fulfill that cherished dream because aside from being an excellent boxer, Gorres is a nice, young man, typical of all the young men who emerge from the portals of the ALA Gym.

WBO No.1 minimum weight Milan Melindo, one of our particular favorites and a 21 year old youngster with tremendous talent and remarkable intelligence in the ring,  overcame the toughest test of his fledgling career when he scored a well-deserved unanimous decision over strong and rugged former IBF world champion Muhammad Rachman of Indonesia who had lost his title by a split decision to Florante Condes on July 7, 2007.

Rachman gave it all he had in an effort to use Melindo as a stepping stone to a world title shot but in the end it was Melindo who fought a tactically sound fight that prevailed and took him ever closer to a world title clash.

As Filipinos both at home and abroad watched the fights “live” at the venue or on television, their hearts were surely filled with joy over the victories of our boxers against genuinely worthy opponents, while the partnership of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN helped showcase the consummate style of the Filipino in presenting an event as the country has done in major events in the past from international beauty pageants to concerts and conferences  – not merely as good as the best in any part of the world but even better than the best.