John Pages
Match Point
HE is often called “The Don King of the Philippines.” But I believe that’s an erroneous claim. For while Sammy Gello-ani and his SGG Promotions form one of the country’s most industrious and indefatigable of boxing organizations—he’s not vulgar or ruthless or vicious like the spike-haired DK.
I called Sammy last Tuesday. It was 10:35 p.m. He came from a meeting and just arrived home. He was about to pack his clothes. The destination? Las Vegas, Nevada. Sammy was to leave the following day at noon from Cebu to Manila, then take the 4:45 p.m. long trek to “the boxing capital of the world.”
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
How many Pacquiao fights have you watched? I asked.
“Plenty,” he said. “Barrera. De La Hoya. The fights in Manila; Larios, 3K Battery, the one in Luneta. I’ve seen two of his fights against Morales. My favorites have to be Barrera in 2003 and the ones against Morales. With Barrera, that was unexpected.”
I asked for his pick this weekend. “Will be a hard win for Manny. He has the advantage,” he said. “The disadvantage? Cotto is a regular welterweight. And Cotto cannot be compared to De La Hoya when he fought Manny. In that loss, De La Hoya had so many problems. He moved down in weight. His preparation was bad. He did not spar with a left-hander.
Cotto can deliver. He has more power. He has the size and strength. The body punches of Cotto are effective. If Manny can’t counter those, that will be a minus for him. Also, Cotto is the underdog and I think he likes that. It will give him extra motivation.
You know, in boxing, things can happen. Remember De La Hoya?
Everybody expected him to beat Manny. But the result was the reverse.
I think Cotto will be cautious in this fight. He’s reviewed the tapes of Hatton. He’ll be careful not to repeat that mistake.
A boxer always learns from previous fights. Cotto will be cautious.
Still, I think Manny can win. But it will be a hard, hard win.”
I asked Sammy, an expert in the art of combat, having been a boxing promoter since 1992 with the ALA Gym before forming his own, SGG Promotions, in 2007 why there’s nobody today—possibly ever—like MP.
“Manny is unique because of the way he moves. In the early stages of his career, he was a standing target. Now, he is moving. Constantly moving. De La Hoya was a standing target.
But we also know that Cotto is preparing for these moves. Also, Manny’s power. Nobody has his power. The way he throws his punches. The way they connect, on target.
If Manny wins, it will be his seventh title in seven weight divisions. I believe he’ll be among the Top five or six all-time greats. He’ll join Ali, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, De La Hoya. Because with Manny, it’s not just his wins but what he did for boxing. It’s extraordinary. No one has done what he’s done.”
Freddie Roach? “He and Manny are a perfect combination. With coaches, it always depends on how the fighter responds. Boxers, very often, are hard-headed and don’t follow their trainers. Manny can be hard-headed. But not with Freddie. Manny follows.
Also, they always improve after each fight. Freddie has converted him to be the perfect fighter.”
was asked if he wants to follow and be like Manny, he said no.
No one can be like Manny. That’s unreachable. He just said, ‘I’m Marvin Sonsona.’”
Finally, I queried about Manny’s impact on boxers, including Federico Catubay, who’ll do battle on Nov. 13.
“All my fighters… all Filipino boxers are influenced by Manny.
My boxers look up to him . All of them want to follow Manny.
For this, we should thank Manny. He opened up not only one door—but all doors.
Today, wherever you are around the world, they all talk about Manny. They say, ‘Oh, you’re Filipino!’ Then, they rave about Manny. So now, even our not-so-good Filipino fighters are popular. The others take them seriously because they’re Filipino like Manny.”
(www.pages.ph)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 12, 2009.
Posts
0 comments
Post a Comment