BAGUIO CITY , Philippines – The Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) has everything lined up for its boxers as they prepare for the major tournaments scheduled the rest of the year.
The boxers are deep in training in this chilly City of Pines and have shown great form heading to the King’s Cup in Bangkok on April 3-9 and the World Championship qualifiers in Uzbekistan beginning on April 30.
Head coach Pat Gaspi and long-time tactician Boy Velasco are making sure that the boxers hit peak form for the King’s Cup, a gathering of the region’s finest amateur fighters.
“We’re preparing hard for these events,” Gaspi said.
Six boxers will head to Bangkok, including light-fly Carlo Paalam, flyweight Ian Clark Bautista, bantam Mario Fernandez, lightweight James Palicte, welterweight Joel Bacho and middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial.
Then by the end of April, the Filipino boxers will travel to Uzbekistan hoping to punch tickets to the World Championships set in Hamburg, Germany.
The World Championships will take place on Aug. 25-Sept. 3, which actually coincides with the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 19-31.
“We are also preparing for the world qualifiers. We can field the six boxers plus veterans like Charly Suarez or Rogen Ladon,” said Gaspi.
“We still have four months to train for the SEA Games and the World Championships,” he added.
Gaspi said ABAP is also looking at sending the boxers to training camps in Cuba, China or Germany.