'Pinoy Pride' comes at a price

Jason Pagara of the Philippines lands a punch to Ramiro Alcaraz of Mexico during the Duel in Dubai 2 boxing at DWTC on Friday.

Three Filipinos may well have emerged victorious from a night designed to encapsulate 'Pinoy Pride,' but the manner of their wins left any neutral observer counting the cost for the pugilism profession.
Jimrex 'The E Jaca' and the Pagara brothers, 'Prince' Albert and Jason 'El Nino', all stepped out of the ring at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Friday evening having had their hands held up in triumph to universal acclaim.
You would, of course, expect nothing less given the billing of this event and the sheer number of Kabayans who'd packed out Zabeel Hall to watch the action.
Nonetheless, there were clear elements of all three bouts that left a lot to be desired in the cold light of day after the drummed-up hoopla and hysteria.
Firstly, Jaca may well have deservedly beaten his Mexican opponent Pabo Lugo Montiel on the judges' respective scorecards (77-74, 78-73x2).
He did though survive a mid-fight scare in the fourth round, when early confidence turned into complacency and Montiel capitalised to floor him twice.
Jaca lost his gum shield twice in quick succession during that distinct wobbly patch and that afforded him sufficient time to clear his head of the swirling, tweeting birds.
In fairness and truth, Jaca did enough in the other seven rounds to suggest he was a worthy winner, yet the fourth round ultimately proved pivotal to the outcome.
Jason Pagara's fight with Ramiro 'Xixime' Alcaraz was equally as contentious and controversial, if not even more so.
Pagara's left eyebrow was cut open, supposedly by an "accidental headbutt" from Alcaraz, in the very first round.
The Mexican boxer was docked a point for that alleged indiscretion as both fighters headed back to their coloured corners for the first time.
Having already marked up his opponent's face inside three minutes, Alcaraz could sense blood - quite literally - and strategically went about his business to exacerbate Pagara's perilous plight with the cut.
Indeed, Pagara was attended to by the ringside doctor midway through the fourth round and the bad blood between the two men almost spilled over in the sixth, when punches were thrown well after the bell.
Alcaraz was punished once again for his part in the unseemly melee, yet the same deterrent didn't appear to be dished out to Pagara for his role in the dust-up.
'El Nino' certifiably struggled to weather the Latin American storm throughout and his increasing desperation was exhibited in the eighth with a cheap shot low blow.
It appeared as if he'd been put out of his misery shortly thereafter as, once more, the doctor was called to assess the damage to his eye and the fight was called off then and there. The crowd fell silent as their man was deemed to be in no position to continue, but - as another accidental headbutt had seemingly worsened Pagara's wound - the decision went to the judges' scorecards.
Pagara had mystifyingly won by unanimous decisions (77-73, 76-74 & 78-72) and the crowd's cheers duly drowned out the stench of that verdict.
"I thought I won the fight," Alcaraz reflected ruefully afterwards. "But, my opponent was fighting on his 'home' turf and they've conspired against me. I'll be appealing that decision to the IBF."
Jason Pagara might have defeated Alcaraz, but he'd got out of Alcatraz and no amount of Vaseline could disguise that simple fact.
Jason's younger brother Albert prevailed far more straightforwardly, stopping Jesus 'Chito' Rios with a first-round knockout.
There was still a lingering sense nevertheless that Kiwi referee Bruce McTavish should have called it off after the first knockdown rather than the second, sparring everyone Rios' unnervingly long period of convalescence on the canvas.
British boxer Amir Khan came to the emirate last month and asked a pertinent, open-ended question: "Why hasn't a sport like boxing taken off in Dubai?"
Friday evening provided a succinct answer to that very query.
alex@khaleejtimes.com