Make way for the GBO, the newest baby among the international boxing
blocs in the universe.
GBO stands for Global Boxing Organization.
Frankly (with a shrug) – for the life of me – I just heard of this three-lettered
boxing group lately.
There already are the WBA (World Boxing Association), WBC (World Boxing Council), IBF (International Boxing Federation) and the WBO (World Boxing Organization).
So what else is new?
GBO is based in the United States but what makes it distinctly different
from its predecessors is that it is run by a young Filipino boxing entrepreneur- promoter whose family is originally based in Davao and Cagayan de Oro.
Rey “Cacoi” Rodis, 33, is descended from the Almirante family whose
patriarch, the late “Doc” Almirante, was a revered name in boxing promotion in the days when Lope “Papa” Sarreal was as much talked about during the Flash Elorde glory era.
No doubt the young Rodis has inherited the Almirante boxing blood. His
passion for the sport has kept him waiting patiently for his time and place in the sun.
Cacoi, namesake of the elder Reynaldo Benitez Rodis of Dacoville, Toril,
himself a promoter of note in the eighties, is now making waves in Los Angeles where he stages boxing events twice more often than the established promoters like Oscar dela Hoya and Al Haymon, handler of Adrien Broner, combined.
He is also bent on assisting and developing Pinoy boxing talents by giving
them slots in his boxing cards against upcoming fighters from the stables of Dela Hoya and Haymon et al.
“You know, sir, there are many requirements we need to fulfill before we
can really get boxing potentials here in the States…the expenses, the immigration
legalities, etc. So, we cannot just recruit a regular guy and send him here.”
Reggie Dulay and Rey Perez are two of Cacoi’s proteges who are slowly but
surely making names for themselves in the exciting feather and lightweight divisions in the GBO ranks in California.
Cacoi carries the RED Boxing International label with a mission and a vision. He knows that for Pinoy boxing talents to shine and glitter, they need to display their wares in the wide American market where they can be tested to the hilt.
But Cacoi wants to effect a sweeping productive change in the Philippine
boxing terrain.
He wants to introduce a boxing renaissance in his home country by using
the GBO as a vehicle and his RED label as the platform.
He says Filipino promoters deserve to get a profitable share from their
undertaking but due to certain unforeseen circumstances the number of
promoters engaging in boxing events have dwindled through the years.
Compared to basketball where Pinoy fans go gaga literally, boxing has been
a far second sports attraction because – save for Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire and perhaps Milan Melindo – no Filipino ring gladiator has achieved as much international prominence in the boxing firmament.
“Next year,” Cacoi told Sports Ken, “I will let you know of my big plans for
Philippine boxing. Daghang Salamat.”
(Email your feedback to
fredlumba@yahoo.com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
