FORMER ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon has had a rough stretch over the past two years.
Belingon has not tasted a win since late 2018, when he won the World Title from longtime rival Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes. He has since suffered three consecutive losses including a knockout loss in his lone match this year against John “Hands Of Stone” Lineker in November.
But make no mistake about it, the Kiangan, Ifugao, native is winning in life.
Belingon recently became a father. He and his wife welcomed their daughter Kelsey last August, and she has become the sole focus for the usually competitive Team Lakay star.
“2020 for me was still a good year, despite everything that happened. I still have a good career,” Belingon said.
“Most importantly, my family welcomed our beautiful baby daughter to the world. She’s the best thing that happened to me.”
However, Belingon isn’t exiting his road back to the top – far from it, actually.
“As for my fighting career, I’m looking to get back to the top in 2021,” he said.
The key for “The Silencer” is staying healthy.
Even after nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines remains one of the hotbeds for the virus in Southeast Asia, while other neighboring countries are already loosening up on restrictions.
“I just have to stay strong and stay healthy right now. That’s one of the toughest challenges with all the different restrictions and obstacles we now face in training,” he continued.
“There are a lot of moving parts that have been affected. I just need to stay on top of it. I’m keeping the dream in sight.”
For Belingon, 2021 will be the newest chapter in his growing illustrious career.
It’s not like he’s faced no-names in his previous three losses, anyway. He dropped matches to ONE Bantamweight World Champion Fernandes twice and Lineker after a long layoff, so it may be too early to say that he’s nearing the end of his career.
“We’ll take the time we need to review our past fights and our past performances, so we can learn the lessons we need to learn to move forward,” he said.
Now it’s all about putting those losses behind him and climbing the ladder once again.
“There are still a lot of holes in my game, and I want to fix them all. I can’t wait to go back to the gym and train hard. I want to be ready for whatever challenge I will potentially face next year,” Belingon said.
“My goal in 2021 is to erase the memory of 2020. My eyes are still on the bantamweight belt. That’s what I want, and that’s what I’m after. Aside from that, I just want to raise my daughter well and take care of her.”
Catch ONE: COLLISION COURSE II live One Sports or One Sports+ at 8:30 p.m. this Friday, 25 December Philippine Standard Time (PHT) or by downloading the ONE Super App.
Also, TV5 will air the action on a next-day delay at 11 p.m. PHT on Saturday, 26 December.
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