By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
One of the premier boxing promotions and gym in the Philippines is shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ALA Boxing Promotions and Gym confirmed in a statement that it will exit the world of fists and gloves after years of giving local boxers the break they needed.
Apart from the pandemic, the closure of ALA’s broadcast media network partner ABS-CBN Sports was also a factor in its closure.
The permanent closing of the prized Cebu-based boxing promotions also means that some top-tier Filipino professional boxers will have to find new homes amid the pandemic.
Four-division world champion Donnie Nietes along with seeded boxers Prince Albert Pagara and Melvin Jersulam and rising star KJ Cataraja will be released by ALA and will have to sign up with other companies to keep their boxing hopes alive.
ALA’s next projected stars Jeo Santisima, Regie Suganob, Christian Bacolod, and Go Hosaka are already arranging deals with other managements with their hopes of a Vegas trip still on the line.
ALA Boxing was once a bar-setter in the Philippines, molding former world champions like Milan Melindo, Malcom and Noel Tunacao, and Rodel Mayo.
