By Nick Giongco
The country’s top amateur fighters are already on vacation mode.
But the coaching staff of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) is reminding everyone to be on “active rest”, head coach Pat Gaspi said on Tuesday.
“While you are on vacation, make sure that you don’t allow yourself to go out of shape,” said Gaspi when asked about specific instructions given to some of the fighters being eyed to make up the national team for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The SEAG will be tops on the priority list of the Abap for 2019 since it will be staged on local soil ad Gaspi reveals that all the fighters – men and women – are ordered to report for training on Jan. 8.
Boxing will feature competitions in eight events in the men’s division and five in the women’s.
The boxers are mostly from the Visayas and Mindanao and while they will be spending the holidays with their loved ones, many of whom they haven’t seen in months, the Abap has strict guidelines.
“They have to keep their weight in check by engaging in fun sports,” said Gaspi.
Invitations to take part in overseas events have started pouring in and the first is a Korean slugfest set in February.
