WHEN it comes to Philippine Sports, boxing has always been at the forefront of our battles for medals, from the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG), Asian Games, and all the way to the Olympics.
The fact is our boxers have won the most number of our Olympic medals on a per sport basis.
The total number of medals we have won from pre-war days to the present is 18, and 8 of them came from boxing, starting with the silver medal by Anthony Villanueva in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
More so when it comes to the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG), well maybe except for the 33rd SEAG in Thailand last year when we only won 1 gold as the Thai officials did everything they could to win golds in practically all sports.
Going back to the Olympics, the surprise actually is the fact that weightlifting beat boxing to the punch with Hidilyn Diaz winning our first gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, surpassed by Caloy Yulo’s 2 gold medals in the Paris Olympics.
But then of the 5 silver medals we have in the Olympiad, 4 of them came from boxers, Villanueva, Onyok Velasco in Atlanta in 1996, and Nesthy Petecio and Carolo Paalam in 2020.
Now that is an impressive achievement and that is the challenge facing Marcus Jarwin Manalo, recently elected as the new President of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP).
It was a responsibility that Marcus much as he had wanted to ease down on his workload as a Secretary General of ABAP, he could not turn it down, hard to say No to MVP, and his love for the sport.
I have worked with Marcus these past years as boxing is our oversight in the Office of PSC Commissioner Fritz Gaston and I can honestly say that ABAP knows what it is doing and delivers.
When I asked Marcus for his plans for boxing, he was ready, and come to think of it, this year will be the Asian Games in Japan, then the SEAG on 2027 in Malaysia, and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, all within his term of office.
In essence, Marcus plans to do the following on an immediate basis.
He wants to establish more regional/provincial training centers aligning with PSC’s directive. This month, he will be visiting Iloilo and Negros Occidental. PSC and ABAP will also set up training centers in the hometowns of Olympic medalists.
Also, set up committees in ABAP such as competition committee so it can host more local tournaments and provide education programs for referee-judges and technical officials.
Also, membership committee to be able to have wider reach to more boxing clubs in the country. Coach education and coaching certification to enhance coaching across the country, will be done in coordination with PSI. Will be included too.
On the status of the Bukidnon training center, he explained that the facility will be operational soon.
Two boxing rings were put up, kitchen equipment are already purchased by Sen. Migz and will be set up soon, and ABAP is shipping PSC’s donations of bunk beds and mattresses for the dorm.
Mindanao-based boxers especially the U15, U17, and U19 boxers can train there soon.
His other plans for the year are to revive regional and national championships; host an international training camp culminating into a small tournament; conduct national coaching convention, a 3-day convention for boxing coaches focusing on topics like physical and tactical skills training, season and session planning, strength and conditioning, nutrition, psychology, and prevention and management of common boxing injuries; and a Boxing for All program – bring boxing (and Olympic medalists) to the parks and communities as an excellent option for physical activity so more people will get to participate, and the appreciation and perception on the sport will improve.
I wish him luck.
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