La Trinidad, Benguet Province – Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez graced the boxing matches held as part of the celebration of the 36th Strawberry Festival in this mountain town Sunday.
The event, organized jointly by the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) and the municipal government led by Mayor Romeo K. Salda, was also the final box-offs for national boxers vying for a slot in the upcoming King’s Cup in Thailand to be held April 3-9 in Bangkok.
On invitation of ABAP Secretary-General/Executive Director Ed Picson, Ramirez witnessed the box-offs as well as exhibition matches among promising local boxers in the area. There was a total of 11 matches featuring the nationals and 7 local bouts.
“This is a great opportunity not only to see our national boxers but also to take a look at promising boxers.The Commission is committed to helping boxing all over the country. I have been making the rounds of different places in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao specifically to see the grassroots programs of different sports”, Ramirez said in a short talk before a crowded La Trinidad Multi-Purpose Gym.
Mayor Salda for his part, said this is just the beginning of a vibrant boxing program that he intends to launch in his area “and I plan to ask the Sanggunian to pass an ordinance that would energize boxing in La Trinidad.”
Salda also pledged to make the boxing exhibitions with national boxers a regular component of their more than a month long celebration of the Strawberry Festival. La Trinidad is known as the “Strawberry Fields of the Philippines”.
Among the national boxers who showed their wares were 2016 World Youth bronze medalist Carlo Paalam, 2015 SEA Games gold medalists Ian Clark Bautista, Mario Fernandez and Eumir Felix Marcial, China Open gold medalist James Palicte and SEA Games silver medalist Irish Magno.