Is coaching the problem?

With the early exit of lightflyweight Rogen Ladon and lightweight Charly Suarez from boxing contention at the Rio Olympics, questions were raised that coaching could’ve been the problem as the fighters failed to get a leg up on their opponents with no significant adjustments in the course of a three-round bout.

But ABAP executive director Ed Picson said the other day the coaching wasn’t deficient. Only Filipino coach Nolito (Boy) Velasco was accredited to join the delegation to Rio and he worked the corners of both Ladon and Suarez with Australian team volunteers Kevin Smith and Don Abnett. Three-time Olympian Romeo Brin was lined up to partner with Velasco as coach in Rio but couldn’t obtain credentials.

Smith, an Englishman, was one of several foreign boxing coaches recruited for different countries in Rio. He used to be an ABAP coaching consultant who visited on periodic short-term contracts until the Australian boxing federation signed him to a long-term commitment. Smith was formerly the national boxing coach of England, Scotland and Nigeria. Picson said Smith would’ve preferred to stay with the Philippine squad but there was no offer to match Australia’s bid.

At the London Olympics four years ago, the Philippines was represented by only one boxer Mark Anthony Barriga who won once before bowing out on a hairline 17-16 decision to Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov. In Rio, Ladon and Suarez were shut out, losing in their first assignments.

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Picson said coaching wasn’t the issue. “We’ve had our successes and our coaches are respected by others,” he said. “Other countries hint that they could use someone like Boy (Velasco) on their team.”

ABAP coach Roel Velasco, who was in London with Barriga, said there’s a big difference between Olympic and pro boxing. “In the pros, coaches train you for timing but in Olympic boxing, you can’t wait too long to get the right timing because a fight is only for three rounds and you’ve got to keep throwing punches and scoring,” he said in Pilipino. “Personally, I don’t see a problem with our coaching. Maybe, the fighters just need to be more persevering.”

The Philippines hoped to qualify at least six fighters for Rio. But bantamweight Mario Fernandez withdrew from the AIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku last June because of an eye problem. Flyweight Ian Clark Bautista and welterweight Eumir Marcial fought in Baku but failed to win a single bout. It was the same fate that befell flyweight Nesthy Petecio at the AIBA Women’s World Championships in Astana last May. Petecio was also winless in the Olympic qualifier.

The argument to tap a foreign coach has basis. The last Philippine Olympic medal in boxing came during the 1996 Atlanta Games when Onyok Velasco took the silver with Cuban coach Raul Fernandez Liranza in his corner. And for sure, Pacquiao wouldn’t have become the world’s only eight-division world champion without American trainer Freddie Roach.

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The US is an example of a country that turned to a foreign coach after failing to claim a single medal in boxing at the London Olympics. The Americans initially brought in Cuban legend Pedro Roque Otano, credited for 35 Olympic medals, including 11 gold, in 40 years with his country’s boxing team. Otano didn’t last long with the US team and left to join Azerbaijan last year. Azerbaijan qualified 11 boxers, including 10 male, for Rio.

With Otano gone, the US recruited 1988 Irish Olympian Billy Walsh who led Ireland to seven boxing medals in the last two Olympics. Walsh was Ireland’s boxing coach for 12 years. Before Rio, the US had not won an Olympic boxing medal since Deontay Wilder bagged a bronze in Beijing in 2008. At presstime, the US was assured of at least a bronze in Rio with lightflyweight Nico Hernandez making it to the semifinals. The US qualified eight boxers, including six men, for Rio.

Thailand’s coach is Cuban Omar Puentes Malagon who has delivered six Olympic medals in boxing, including two gold. Malagon has been the Thai team coach for more than 10 years and now speaks fluent Thai. He didn’t make the trip to Rio because of visa issues. Malagon once said to be a top Olympic boxer, you must have discipline and a good boxing program. “In Thailand, many boxers come from the military or police so they already have strong discipline,” he said. “So then it depends on our boxing program and we have a good one.”

Cuban boxing coaches are marketable exports. “In Europe, a Cuban coach has been with France several years,” said Picson. “I spoke with the Australian coaches and they told me there are Cuban coaches with South American teams.”