the agony of antonio l. aldeguer
By Manny Pinol
for philboxing.com/thepinoyboxers.com
There is no other Filipino boxing patron whose dedication to the sport and love for his young wards is as deep as that of Cebu City's Antonio L. Aldeguer, the man behind the popular ALA Boxing Gym.
Tony, also called "Bidoy" by those close to him, has invested a fortune and spent almost half of his lifetime in pursuit of a dream of one day producing not just one but many world boxing champions.
He has the means to do it having been born to an old rich Negrense family which owns vast tracts of land in Negros Island.
I have seen him when he was still seriously involved with amateur boxing. He would join the provincial sorties of his young amateur boxers -- Baguio City, Bulacan, Rizal and elsewhere -- working in the corner of his boys and sometimes even wiping off the sweat of the young kids after the fight.
But after a series of disappointments courtesy of the then officials of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) and highlighted by the unfair and unjust judging of a fight where one of his boxers -- now the world bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa -- lost, Tony bade amateur boxing for good.
Aldeguer's epic involvement with professional boxing started shortly after and through the years he built a name for himself as a boxing manager willing to spend a fortune to produce the best boxers.
He built a world-class boxing gymnasium and even assigned his son, Michael, to personally handle the affairs in boxing accompanying the boxers to places where Tony could not personally go because of his business commitments.
The sad part of Tony's boxing story is that in spite of his dedication, love, devotion and sacrifice, Lady Luck seem to be miserly in showering him with blessings.
Indeed, he was able to produce a world champion in Donnie Nietes, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) miniflyweight champion. But this accomplishment pales in the face of the heartbreaking reversals suffered by his more popular -- and apparently more favored -- wards.
Z Gorres, called the Dream, is simply that: a dream, a boxer whose fighting style is so boring that the name "Zzz" fits him to a tee.
Then came AJ "Bazooka" Banal who appeared so invincible that it was presumed that his coronation as a world boxing champion was only a matter of time.
But a fight against a virtual nobody from South America made the Bazooka myth burst like balloon.
He tried to salvage the career of a young boxer from Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, Michael Domingo, and for a while it looked like Tony found a respectable boxer who could really fight and who could give him a legitimate world championship.
Then came the sad news: Domingo was diagnosed to be afflicted with Hepatitis B. That's the end of his career, unless they can come up with a medical miracle to cure the disease.
But the greatest disappointment, and I think I know how Tony feels, is Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista. Drummed up as the next Manny Pacquiao, Boom Boom was carefully nurtured by Tony's handlers to pile up one win after another and build up an impressive fight record.
Then, just as everybody thought Boom Boom was for real, he was bombed by the awkward Daniel Ponce de Leon in a shocking first round knockout. Reasons for the loss were offered just to keep the flicker of hope of a Boom Boom championship.
After a few victorious outings, there was renewed optimism that Boom Boom may yet make it, that the loss to Ponce de Leon just came on Bautista's off day.
That was until Heriberto Ruiz finally drove the last nail on Boom Boom's coffin.
I cannot fully imagine how Tony Aldeguer feels now. At this point perhaps, he is starting to ask himself why fate has been so unkind to his dream of producing world boxing champions. That would be understandable.
For a dedicated, devoted and helpful boxing patron like Tony Aldeguer, the turn of events for him could really be frustrating. Added to his pain are the relentless insults heaped on his failed boxers, most especially Boom Boom, once a darling of the media.
But if I know Tony, he will not give up easily. He has spent more than 20 years of his life in boxing and while he is nursing a wounded heart, not to mention pride, I expect him to continue his search for another world champion.
Donnie Nietes, who is scheduled to defend his WBO miniflyweight crown very soon, will not be Tony Aldeguer's lone champion for long.
With his dedication and devotion to the sport, Tony Aldeguer, just like a patient and persevering miner, will strike gold in due time.
When that time comes, his sacrifices will be rewarded and the blessings due to a person who dreams of nothing but to help young boys find a way out of poverty will soon pour on him like sparklers on a New Year's Day.
