Hundreds of boxers from different provinces in the country will converge in Bacolod City this week for the 2009 Smart National Amateur Boxing Championship, slated Jan. 17-23 at the Negros Occidental Multi-Purpose Activity Center.

Officials from Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, led by its president, Ricky Vargas, and secretary-general Patrick Gregorio, were in Bacolod over the weekend to inspect NOMPAC and finalize the details of the tournament.

The two ABAP officials also met with Bacolod Congressman Monico Puentevalla to confirm the staging of the Boxing Congress on Jan. 22 at the L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City.

Meanwhile, Games and Amusement Board Commissioner and Negros Amateur Boxing Association president Monju Guanzon yesterday said boxers from Tagbilaran, Bohol are now in the city getting ready for the competition that starts Jan. 18.

Guanzon said NABA, Himamaylan, Talisay City, Cadiz City, and Escalante City are among the teams that confirmed their participation in the weeklong national boxing extravaganza featuring boxers 18 years old and below.

Up for grabs are titles in the school boys, kids, youth, and juniors division in male category. Female boxers will also clash in their own division, Guanzon said.

Expressing confidence that team NABA, as well as the other teams from Negros Occidental, are well-prepared for the tournament, he said local boxers are expected to figure prominently in the tournament.

Guanzon also lauded the new officials of ABAP for steering the association to a new direction, stressing that the Boxing Congress on Jan. 22 is necessary to get a closer look on the country’s boxing program.

The GAB commissioner said that ABAP has been mismanaged in the past and there had been a lot of lapses. He hopes that stakeholders in boxing who will attend the Congress will be able to give amateur boxing the much needed shot-in-the-arm.

The national amateur boxing championships officially opens on Jan. 16 with the registration of competing teams while the motorcade and opening ceremonies will be on Jan. 17 with Bacolod City’s adopted son and world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao as guest of honor.

For a national boxing event that aims to discover new sports heroes in our country, there is no other befitting personality can give honor and inspiration to our young boxers than Manny Pacquiao, Puentevella said in a press statement.

The event is sponsored by Smart Telecommunications in coordination with the ABAP, Bacolod Congressional District Office, Philippine Sports Commission and the NABA.*NAB

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