Underdog Boxing: Drian Francisco’s slow but steady ascent to the top

We’ve all heard those horror stories about young Filipino fighters getting fed to the lions early in their careers. We all saw how Rey “Boomboom" Bautista was knocked out by Daniel Ponce de Leon. We all watched in dismay when the young Ciso Morales was knocked out in the first round by Fernando Montiel. And we all witnessed how Fernando Lumacad refused to continue because he knew he had no business being in the same ring as Jorge Arce. Blinded by huge paydays that they may never see again, the people behind these fighters take the bait and their fighters pay the price. It is safe to say that boxing will never have a Brock Lesnar. A boxer cannot win a world championship with a record of three wins and a loss. Professional boxers need to be slow-cooked before they challenge for a title belt. This is why I like the path that Drian Francisco’s (20-0-1, 16 KOs) career is taking. Francisco started his boxing career late because he opted to finish college first. But even though he was already old compared to other boxing newbies, he was not rushed into taking fights he could not win. He was given a steady supply of opponents that are good enough to challenge him but not good enough to defeat him. He already had 18 fights under his belt when he battled his first world-class foe in Roberto Vasquez, a former world champion. After Francisco defeated Vasquez, his next victim was the highly-ranked Ricardo Nunez, who he also knocked out. Two big wins against world-class fighters proved that he was ready for a title fight so he trooped to Thailand to battle Duangpetch Kokietgym for the WBA interim super flyweight title. He won via a scintillating 10th round TKO. Elmer Anuran, Francisco’s manager, has done a tremendous job in taking care of his fighter. He found the balance between making sure that Francisco’s opponents are tough enough to give him a good fight but he also made sure that Francisco will not get a title shot unless he was absolutely ready. Francisco is ready now but Hugo Cazares, the owner of the WBA regular super flyweight title, claimed that he is injured and can only face Francisco by June. “I think the team of Cazares wants Drian to get a bit of ring rust before they fight him but we won’t play along with their games. I want Drian to fight one more time before June," Anuran said. Most Filipino fighters will find it hard to turn down a fat paycheck even if it is for a fight that they cannot win. I understand where they are coming from. They are, after all, prize fighters. However, if fighters believe that they can make it all the way to the top, they must realize that taking a big paycheck now can cause them to miss out on huge paychecks in the future. Keep it slow and steady. It always works. Always. -- OMG, GMA News