The Pacquiao-Elorde Awards officials and awardees pose for a group photo. | Photo from WBC
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Central Visayas was well-represented during the inaugural Elorde-Pacquiao Boxing Awards at Okada Manila last Sunday, March 24th.
This was after 13 of Central Visayas’ best boxers from Cebu and Bohol were feted for their achievements in 2023.
They were headed by none other than former World Boxing Organization (WBO) world minimumweight champion Melvin Jerusalem of the Cebu-based ZIP Sanman Boxing Team, who was a co-awardee for the “Boxers of the Year”.
The other “Boxers of the Year” awardee was former WBA and IBF world bantamweight super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales, who was also once based in Cebu.
Additionally, six of PMI Bohol Boxing Stable, headed by ex-world title challenger and current WBO Global junior flyweight champion Regie Suganob, were feted during the awards.
Joining him were former WBC Asian Silver super featherweight champion and current WBO Oriental super featherweight champion Virgel Vitor, former WBO AsPac and Philippine minimumweight champion Jake Amparo, former WBO Oriental Youth minimumweight champion Shane Gentallan, WBO Asia Pacific Youth bantamweight champion Gerwin Asilo, and WBF Asia Pacific flyweight champion Angilou Dalogdog.
Also recognized were ZIP Sanman’s Esneth Domingo, the WBO Global flyweight champion, and ARQ Boxing Stable’s OPBF silver flyweight champion, April Jay Abne.
Completing the list are Cebuano homegrown boxers Kevin Jake Cataraja of ZIP Sanman Boxing Team, who is the former OPBF super flyweight champion, Villamor Boxing Gym’s Christian Balunan, who is the reigning WBO Asia Pacific Youth minimumweight champion, ARQ’s John Paul Gabunilas, a former WBO AsPac Youth light flyweight champion, and Chao Sy Boxing Stable’s John Kevien Jimenez, who is the OPBF Youth minimumweight champion.
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