The Emergence of Philippine Boxing

Manny Pacquiao has done a lot for his country. His boxing
prowess has brought fame to his country and has made him a hero among his
countrymen. His fame, charisma and talent have also brought new opportunities
for his fellow Filipino boxers. International boxing promoters has now begun to
put Filipino boxers into their international boxing promotions. As a result,
the boxing talents of Filipino boxers became exposed to the world and have led
to the revival of Pinoy boxing.

This revival has culminated in the International boxing
promotion that has been named as the boxing "World Cup". This event is
projected as a yearly event that will be done between two competing countries
that are considered as boxing powerhouses. This year the competition was
between perennial boxing powerhouse Mexico,
and the Philippines,
the new boxing hotbed. Mexico
was the defending boxing "World Cup" champion as it defeated Thailand
in the first match up between leading boxing nations.

The Philippine boxing team won five of the six bouts at
stake at this year's "World Cup" of Boxing held at the Arco Arena. The grand
boxing event was held in front of a highly-partisan crowd of 4,469 screaming
fans from both countries. Pinoy boxing has solidified its position as the
world's boxing superpower by snatching the title away from long-reigning Mexico.




Gerry Penalosa contributed the biggest win when he wrested the WBO bantam title
from Mexican champ Jhonny Gonzalez with a come-from-behind knockout win. The
Pinoy boxing star hit Gonzales with a paralyzing body shot in the seventh
round. However, it was Z Gorres who
sealed the Filipinos' victory. He stopped former WBC champ Eric Ortiz with an
eighth-round technical knockout to earn the fourth win for the Philippine
boxing team.



Diosdado Gabi of Davao City
was the first winner for Team Philippines
by earning an eight-round unanimous decision over Mexico's
Jose Angel Beranza. Michael Domingo then followed it up with a six-round
masterful unanimous win over previously unbeaten Miguel Roman. The
Domingo-Roman bout was considered one of the most exciting fights of the night
and really excited the crowd for the main event.



Cebu's AJ 'Bazooka' Banal completed the five victories needed to secure the
World Cup trophy by stopping Jorge Cardenas in the third round of their
scheduled six-rounder. The Philippine boxing prospect displayed great power and
skill as he repeatedly hit his Mexican opponent with flushed shots culminating
with an explosive counter that dropped Cardenas.
Cardenas seems to have twisted his
knee preventing him from standing up and continuing the fight. However, the
Pinoy boxing team did not sweep all six matches as Rey "Boom Boom"
Bautista experienced a very painful first round KO defeat at the hands of
Daniel Ponce de Leon.

The Philippines'
victory at this year's Boxing "World Cup" will only fuel the desire of Filipino
boxers to train harder. Now that the door is open to them, they need to
capitalize by doing their best in world boxing championships. Hopefully, the
excitement they bring will help revive boxing and provide honor to Philippine
boxing.