ASTANA, Kazakhstan – Ricky Vargas, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, was named Honorary Vice-President of the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) during the Extraordinary General Assembly held at the Rixos President Hotel here Tuesday.
ASBC president Gofur Rakhimov of Uzbekistan nominated Vargas, who is also president and CEO of Maynilad Water Corporation. The assembly, which drew representatives from 28 countries from all over Asia, unanimously approved the nomination.
At the same event, Rakhimov also announced that the Philippines will host this year’s Asian Youth Championships in late September. More than 20 countries are expected to field their best 17-18 year old male boxers in the said tournament.
One of the first to personally congratulate Vargas was AIBA president Dr. Ching Kuo Wu of Chinese Taipei, who hailed the appointment of a “man of stature who will surely be a great asset to the international boxing family.”
Dr. Wu presented the plans for the launching of the AIBA Professional Boxing (APB) which will start next year.
Also on hand as part of the Philippine delegation to the General Assembly were ABAP secretary-general Patrick Gregorio and executive director Ed Picson.