Thanks: 
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Why Mayol did not win his match......
http://news.inq7.net/sports/index.ph...d=75050&col=43
Editor's Note: Published on page A30 of the May 8, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
TOKYO -- Rodel Mayol, who had looked every elegant inch the sure winner in the first six rounds, remained in the hospital yesterday, the morning after his tragic failure to capture the world minimumweight boxing crown here.
Gina Matsuoka, wife of Mayol’s Japanese manager, said their boxer threw up inside his dugout after the bruising fight at the Korakuen Hall.
Mayol was both shaken and burned out but a CT scan done on the failed title-seeker from Mandaue City did not bare any serious injury.
“He was severely drained and was still being administered dextrose,” Ms Matsuoka explained.
It was not clear when Mayol, ordered to take a complete rest, would be released.
* * *
Well, this is not supposed to be a consolation, but Eagle Kyowa, the defending champion who came from behind to frustrate Mayol’s crown bid, was also in the same hospital where Mayol landed Saturday night.
“He (Kyowa) was still throwing up and was, in fact, in a wheelchair,” reported
Mayol stablemate Malcolm Tuñacao.
Tuñacao, who successfully defended his Orient-Pacific bantamweight title via an 11th round stoppage in the undercard to the main bout Saturday, could be right in suggesting Kyowa had suffered the bigger injury.
Pummeled and punished in the first half of the 12-round title fight, Kyowa was pitifully headed for the dead-end in his title defense.
For one, Kyowa, his face, puffed and bloodied by Mayol’s sharp, powerful blows in the early rounds, could barely see his foe with his badly damaged right eye.
* * *
Until yesterday, however, it was a puzzle to many how and why Mayol failed to show up in the seventh round.
No, Mayol was actually seen there inside the ring, but at that point it was already a dumb, confused born-loser who was doing the crown chase against the resurgent champion.
Suddenly gone was the splendid and gutsy warrior who had never lost in all 22 previous bouts.
Anyway, what made Mayol’s defeat doubly tragic was the fact that, contrary to initial suggestions, he did not even have to surpass himself.
In dominating Kyowa in the first half of the bout, Mayol was just being his usual strong, sharp self.
Yes, the world title, well within grasp, could only be a couple of good rounds away.
In short, Mayol had reached the bridge after Kyowa failed to solve the challenger’s fiery assault.
* * *
All Mayol had to do was cross over and that would be it. What followed instead was a monumental fold-up.
Mayol suddenly turned tentative, missed his step, lost steam and started groping like someone suddenly stricken silly by motion sickness.
He no longer knew where he was headed.
All the right things he had done in the first six rounds were reduced to garbage starting the seventh, before he allowed himself to be hacked with a killer right in the final round.
At least he salvaged a descent defeat on points, despite being floored in the final round.
Whether that decking was caused by a push or a valid punch was beside the point.
What inevitably became clear was that Mayol, contrary to what he had bragged, was not at peak form. He was not properly prepared. He had played hooky during the Holy Week break, while his trainer holidayed in nearby Bohol province.
They could say he was only half-ready, but it would not be right to buy that line. Mayol claimed he had trained hardest, and sparred over a hundred rounds.
But he was evidently not even half-ready. Otherwise, he would have not ended up behaving sick and throwing garbage in the crucial closing rounds.
There was a breakdown in the training system, as confirmed by reliable sources.
Maybe his manager had been overly sweet and kind to members of Team Mayol, to the trainer mainly.
But Mayol must be taught to mature, now.
After his manager had gullibly allowed Mayol to come in only half-baked for the crown chase, he must also start looking for a new cook, quick please.
Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks