Montano brothers win in celebrity boxing

Cesar Montano and his brother Rommel won their matches in the Bakbakan ’06 Part 2, a celebrity boxing event staged at the Star City Activity Center last Nov. 8, according to article posted on the websute of Philippine Entertainment Portal (www.pep.ph). Cesar won his bout via unanimous decision against Olympic boxer Charlie Balena, who was part of the Philippine delegation that competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Balena, a featherweight, lost to Djamel Lifa of France, 20:12. In an earlier match, Rommel beat fellow Emilio Garcia, in the third and final round, as his older brother did. Cesar won despite having a hard time with his breathing. “Walang practice talaga. Yan, kulang sa hangin. Laban pa rin siyempre (I really had no practice. That's why I was short of breath. But, of course, I still went on with the fight), " he told PEP's Wells Avante. "Next time, we’ll give them a better fight.” On his strategy, he said: “Hinihintay ko lang siyang pumasok e. Dun ko lang siya binibigyan. Pero malakas. Alam kong magaling siyang boksingero. He’s been boxing all his life. May passion siya sa boxing. Makikita mo, mas may hangin siya sa akin e (I just waited for him to close in. That's when I gave it to him — hard. I know he's a good boxer. He's been boxing all his life. He's passionate about boxing. You could see that he had more air).” Back in August, Cesar almost came to blows, at another celebrity boxing event, with model Andrew Wolff, right after the model won his match with Rommel. Some commentators said Wolff broke the rules, and TV reports showed that Wolff kept on punching Rommel, though the bell had rung. That got Cesar angry. Fortunately, spectators got between him and Wolff. A few days, boxing promoter and manager Gabriel Elorde, son of the boxing legend Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, offered Cesar and Andrew a chance to settle their quarrel — but properly, in the ring. Elorde even urged Chairman Eric Buhain of the Games and Amusements board to allow celebrities to be licensed as boxers so that they could learn the rules and go at it in the right way. The match never happened, and Wolff has since flown to the US. But in his second time ever to join a boxing match, Rommel went on and practiced anyway. Rommel said: “Tinuloy-tuloy ko lang yung training ko nung una. Pagkatapos ng laban namin ni Andrew Wolff, before nung laban namin ni Andrew Wolff, nagti-train na kami eh." - GMANews.TV