Night of champions

They didn’t look like fighters last Monday when the country’s top pugilists were feted at the 2nd Gabriel (Flash) Elorde Boxing Awards Night in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati.

They were dressed to the nines – like celebrities on parade. No bare chests. No shorts. No boots laced up in the shin. International Boxing Federation (IBF) superbantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao, in a dressy barong Tagalog, came with wife Jinky. Tiger Ari, who recently relinquished his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) superfeatherweight crown to battle Cassius Baloyi for the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) title in South Africa on April 17, was also in a barong and accompanied by wife Jenny. OPBF bantamweight ruler Jess Maca, the World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 6 contender, and OPBF lightweight titlist Dennis Laurente wore barongs, too. OPBF welterweight king Rev Santillan was sporty in a long-sleeved shirt.

The best and brightest of Philippine professional boxing took center stage in the year’s biggest celebration to honor the lords of the ring.

The Elorde family spared no expense to make it an unforgettable affair. The hallway leading to the Grand Ballroom was transformed into a theater of D’Flash memorabilia. Original newsclippings of Elorde’s most memorable fights, photographs, championship belts, and mementoes were on display. Fighters, who weren’t even born when Elorde fought his last bout in 1971, found inspiration in the exhibit.

Elorde’s widow Laura delivered the welcome remarks, thanking the boxing community for turning out to toast D’Flash’s 67th birthday. Her children Theresa, Johnny, Rita, Marty and Cucuy took turns awarding the trophies to the honorees. Eldest daughter Maria Luisa, who lives in the US, couldn’t make it. Gabriel, Jr. or Bebot was in London on business.

Guest of honor National Security Adviser Roilo Golez was a hit as the keynote speaker. Golez, unbeaten in 20 fights as a four-year amateur champion at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, spoke about how Elorde influenced his life and how boxing opened the doors to his political career.

In 1960, Golez said he tried to buy a general admission ticket to watch Elorde’s fight against Harold Gomes for the world junior lightweight title at the Araneta Coliseum. But the tickets were sold out. So he waited for the outcome at a Ma Mon Luk restaurant nearby, gulping down mami. When news spread that Elorde had knocked out Gomes, Golez joined hundreds of Filipinos dancing in the streets to celebrate the victory. It was a proud moment, he recalled.

Golez said he was a regular spectator of fights at the Big Dome which was once the world’s biggest domed coliseum. He rattled off names of fighters whom he watched – Bert Somodio, Baby Lorona, Johnny Jamito, Ronnie Jones, Orlando Medina, Rocky Kalingo, Rey Asis, Young Terror and Little Cezar. Golez was such a boxing fan that he could recount, blow by blow, the action in each round of fights he witnessed.

Golez said he was told that aside from his professional qualifications, what made then President Marcos appoint him as Postmaster General was his boxing background. Marcos challenged Golez to knock out the scalawags in the Post Office. Golez’s success as Postmaster General led to a political career that took him to Congress then to Malacañang as National Security Adviser.

In his speech, Golez exhorted fighters to emulate Elorde who invested his ring earnings wisely and made sure of a comfortable future for his family even after his death.

To spice up the event, Johnny’s wife Liza recruited recording artist Chad Borja and sultry singer Winnie Estrada. What brought the house down was Winnie dancing with Pacquiao who gamely obliged.

The dinner buffet was sumptuous and fighters ate up, forgetting at least for the night their diets to keep within their weight limits.

Among the three former world champions who were honored, only Luisito Espinosa failed to come. He couldn’t arrange for a parole visa to leave the US as his immigration papers are still being processed.

Lawyer Rudy Salud received a special award as the first WBC Secretary-General and also accepted the posthumous citation for former WBC president Justiniano Montano. Not too many know that Salud quietly contributed a tidy sum to defray a major part of the production expenses for the affair. That’s Salud for you.

Other special awardees were former boxing judge and Pasay Mayor Wenceslao (Pee Wee) Trinidad, OPBF president Frank Quill who flew in from Melbourne to accept the citation for WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Games and Amusements Board (GAB) chairman Eduardo Villanueva, international referee Bruce McTavish, Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Benjamin Abalos, and Las Piñas Mayor Nene Aguilar.

The major awardees were Pacquiao as Boxer of the Year, Rex (Wakee) Salud as Best Promoter, Antonio Aldeguer as Best Manager, Mario Lumacad as Best Trainer, Ferdinand Estrella as Best Referee, Vincent Rodriguez as Best Judge, Felixberto Jardevil as Best Matchmaker and Rodel Mayol as Most Promising Boxer.

A highlight of the affair was the 30-minute documentary produced by Viva Vintage Sports chief operating officer Ronnie Nathanielsz in what was described as a labor of life. Nathanielsz was a close friend of D’Flash and visited him almost daily in his sickbed during his final days. The documentary was a masterpiece and featured rare footage of Elorde in action against Sandy Saddler, Teruo Kosaka and Ismael Laguna.

The documentary, the awards program, Golez delivering his inspiring speech, and Pacquiao dancing will be shown at 7 tonight on IBC-13. Don’t miss it.

Postscript. Sports fans and budding sportscasters are in for a treat at the second Center for Sports Communication’s basic sportscasting seminar on April 1-3 starting 9 a.m. at the Development Academy of the Philippines on San Miguel Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig. Fee is P3,000 inclusive of lunch and materials. Speakers include Chino Trinidad, Noel Zarate, Mon Liboro, Al Neri, Bill Velasco, Ryan Gregorio and yours truly. Alvin Patrimonio, Willie Miller, James Wallkvist and surprise guests will be around for practical applications. Contact Rose at 9161017 or Judith at 3731974, 3739765, or 3736447 for details.