THE Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) understands that seeing boxing in the major collegiate leagues in the future may just very well be a long shot.
After all, the country's national boxing federation have repeatedly attempted pitching the sweet science to colleges and universities before, but to no avail.
"We attempted some years back, but it fizzled out," ABAP executive director Ed Picson told Spin.ph.
"We were hoping to provide technical assistance to the NCAA or UAAP schools to raise awareness for the sport."
Calls for boxing to be icluded in collegiate leaguesgained steam after three Filipino boxers won medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial even batted for boxing in a recent appearance in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.
"Yung iba kasi tulad ko, gusto ko mag-aral ng college pero hindi ako makapag-aral kasi nag-focus ako sa boxing. Kung mayroon na sa school na boxing, may tournament kayo, nasasabay pa yung aral tsaka boxing. Mas makaka-produce tayo ng magagaling na boksingero," he said.
Of the four Olympic boxers, only silver medalist Nesthy Petecio was able to finish her studies, earning a degree in Associate Arts of Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Baguio in 2019.
Marcial, silver medalist Carlo Paalam, and Irish Magno also attended UB but were unable to finish their studies.
There are combat sports in some of the athletic calendars like taekwondo and karatedo, which use body armors, amateur boxing doesn't. Elite amateur male boxers compete without head protection, while women are still required to wear them.
Also a huge concern in the physical toll the sport requires in tournaments, with short recovery time between bouts.
Picson also pointed out the difficulties for universities to form boxing teams.
"In our experience, there will be very few enrolees who would be willing to take the tremendous effort to become national boxers. Realistically, the time and the physical toll are too much for someone who is a full-time student," he said.
Philippine national boxing team members Irish Magno, Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial.
Although some universities and colleges in the provinces have their own boxing teams just like UB, most of the Philippine boxing team's grassroots discoveries come from the Palarong Pambansa, Philippine National Games, and Batang Pinoy.
From there, the ABAP tries to develop promising pugilists.
At the college level, Picson said that the least the ABAP could do now is to look for students who are interested in taking up boxing and give them a chance to vie for a spot in the national team.
"The best we can hope for is to stoke the interest of those who would be inclined to take up the sport for physical wellness or as a hobby. Those who are really serious in joining the national team will just have to go through the usual processes, meaning joining the PNG or any ABAP-sanctioned tournaments," he said.
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