Flippin' Out in the Philippine Boxing Scene

FLIPPIN’ OUT ON THE PHILIPPINE BOXING SCENE // published Wednesday, 19-Jan-2005 // written by Jason Aniel From RingTalk.com IS “BOOM-BOOM” BAUTISTA THE NEXT “PAC-MAN?” Bantamweight Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista will defend his WBO Pan-Asian title against Vuyisile Bebe, of Africa, January 29th in the Sports Complex in Cebu City, Philippines. The 19-year-old Filipino has received rave reviews from his peers and the Philippine Media after compiling an impressive start to a career as he’s moved himself to a record of 12-0 with 9 KO’s. THIS “BOOM-BOOM” GUY HAS DEFIED THE ODDS! His Manager Antonio Aldeguer has not protected his prize steed, having already sent him to Indonesia and Korea for fights against the almost impossible to beat hometown fighter. And Rey won both times. A win against a power punching Bebe can propel the youngster to countrywide popularity, similar to World featherweight champion Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao. With the win comes a ticket to the United States where “Boom-Boom” Bautista can take his game to another level. BUY YOUR ADMISSION TICKET TO “PAC-MAN” LAND! In the first hour of “Ring Talk Radio (Late Edition) this past Sunday, host Pedro Fernandez and Rick Reno of www.BoxingScene.com discussed the growing hardcore fan base of World featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao. They even compared his cult-like following and fans to the Oscar De La Hoya “Groupies,” and the Mike Tyson “Loyalists.” Don’t kid yourself boxing fans. With a record of 39-2, and with 31 of those 39 wins being by KO, Manny Pacquiao deserves to be talked about anytime the best fighters “Pound for Pound” in the world today are discussed. MANNY BEING OVER-HYPED BY THE MANY MINIONS? Message boards on the Internet have numerous postings comparing Pacquiao to some of the boxing games all-time greats. These same supporters are predicting a most convincing win, virtual domination over the great Erik Morales, a man who has never been dominated or on the verge of being KO’d when they meet in March. Morales will have to contend with something that gives the lanky Mexican problems, speed! When it comes to quickness, both of hand and foot, Erik comes in second here. “HEY, I KO’D MARCO AND HE WHIPPED ON YOU!” And with Manny looking to bring the fight to Morales, previously a recognized champion at 122, 126, and 130 lbs., how can Morales who is 47-2, 34 KO’s, how will he handle the heat. How about the psychological factor? And the fact Manny hits harder than anybody Morales has ever faced, in addition to his being a lefthander. I mean Pacquiao KO’d Barrera after darn near pitching a shutout before the 11th round stoppage in November of 2003. What kind of emotional toll will this have on Morales as he looks across the ring? (PHOTO by ESPN) THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE IS…..HATE! Because of the all the “Pac-Man” love abound, there has become a large group of Pacquiao haters. Even those who were fans of Manny Pacquiao, they had to read the constant testimonials of “Pacmen & Pacquetes” who worship the very ground he walks on. Thus for some, their common interest in Pacquiao has turned into hate because of the die-hard fans and their unreal backing of the champion. REALITY BEING PACMAN IS ALL WE HAVE, FOR NOW! The fans and boxing writers and media must understand that other than NBA star Yao Ming, Pacquiao is the only Asian athlete recognized amongst the worlds elite. Especially for Filipinos, who have very little to look up to in celebrated athletes, Pacquiao is all they’ve got. Mexican fans have Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Juan Manuel Marquez. THOSE YANKEES HAVE QUITE A TEAM! American fans, those Yankees, they have Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya, and Winky Wright. The Puerto Ricans can add future World champion Miguel Cotto to their list of greats along with Felix Trinidad. What people have to understand is that as long as Pacquiao reigns supreme in whatever division he fights in, his loyal Filipino fans will continue to support and worship him until he falls. Something I don’t see happening come March 19 on HBO PPV. FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE OF A WBC SCREWING! WBC featherweight king Luisito Espinosa fought Cesar Soto in El Paso Texas, just minutes from Juarez, Mexico, where Soto is a resident. As stated, Espinosa was the defending WBC champion and after a slow start won the majority of the rounds late. When the scorecards were read, those in the know were stunned when Soto was awarded a Unanimous Decision! Stunned! MY MOM MANAGED LUISITO ESPINOSA! Espinosa's Manager at the time was my Mother Erlinda Aniel. Immediately she filed complaints with the Texas Athletic Commission, and more importantly with President Jose Sulaiman and the World Boxing Council. The WBC had a meeting where they reviewed the fight on tape. After all but admitting a crime had occurred, the WBC ordered an “Immediate” rematch between Soto and Espinosa. TOP RANK AIDED BY WBC LACK OF FORCE! However, Soto and Top Rank had already booked a big-money match-up with Prince Naseem Hamed. The bottom line was that the fight was signed and Espinosa was left on the outside looking in! An aging Luisito, he had to wait on a “Mandatory” fight that would take place after the Soto-Hamed match. Hamed won and the WBC ordered the Brit to fight Espinosa, but Naz declined. So Espinosa fought Guty Espadas, in of all places Mexico, and one year later. The fact he had to win again in someone else's hometown ruined both Espinosa's career and life. After getting burned in this manner by the WBC, suffice to say that the results reduced Luisito to pugilistic rubble. WAIT A YEAR AND THEN FIGHT A MEXICAN IN…MEXICO! Instead of facing Cesar Soto immediately in a rematch, he waited one year and lost to Espadas. Had Luisito gotten justice the first time, he would have fought Naseem Hamed and cashed out in his career. However, having been cheated in El Paso, he couldn't get his immediate rematch with Soto and Hamed bypassed him leaving him to fight Espadas for short coins in Mexico. SULAIMAN WAS JUST POSTURING (SEE B.S) WITH US! As I previously stated, the WBC ordered the rematch. But that mandate was indeed hollow as it did not make it immediate, which wasto have been the case. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen to the most recent WBC screw-job victim Jose Navarro, and the WBC orders an “IMMEDIATE” rematch! THIS TIME JOSE & THE WBC WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE! Jose Sulaiman are you going to allow Navarro to be violated, and look the other way here as you did with Luisito? One hopes not, as people are preparing both a Legal and Media attack on you and your Mexico City based group if you don’t do what’s right! Jose, you and the WBC, you have been forewarned! HIT “THE RECENT ARTICLES” BUTTON Located at the top of this page is the “Most Recent Articles” button that illustrates the most recent stories here at www.RingTalk.com If you’ve never read Pedro Fernandez, Cliff “24-Karat” Rold, or our “House Historian” world renowned Sin City Richey, then you have no idea what you’ve been missing boxing fans! Make www.RingTalk.com a favorite right now! DO YOU LISTEN TO “RING TALK RADIO?” The longest running boxing talk show in history is “Ring Talk Radio” hosted by award-winning writer Pedro Fernandez. As I mentioned early in this piece, Pedro’s Sunday night show was jumping! His guests included Jose Navarro, Rick Reno, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, and Senator Richard Russell. President Johnson? He’s on tape from 1964 discussing retired Referee and boxing icon “Judge Mills Lane” in length. Hit this link and remember you can listen to “Ring Talk Radio” 24-7 on the web by hitting this link http://www.universaltalknetwork.com/arch_ringtalk.html FRESH BOXING NEWS DAILY AT WWW.RINGTALK.COM Just in case you were brought to www.RingTalk.com by a referring site, we thank you and invite you to join the “Ring Talk Family!” As one of the forefathers of boxing on the Internet, I can tell you we take pride in being “Brutally Honest!” No matter where the chips fall, you the boxing fan deserve to have a news source not controlled by sponsors and the like! Remember, you can find this and more at www.RingTalk.com! Tell ten friends about us!