JC Manangquil, the young veteran behind Sanman

PRIZED WARE. JC Manangquil holds up a world title belt won by one of his wards at the Sanman Boxing Gym in General Santos City.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

This boxing enthusiast, the son of a police general, is still in his early 20s. A virtual babe in the woods but whose solid stats show he’s no pushover in the boxing industry.

At 22, Jim Claude Manangquil has already produced a world champion. He is also behind a fast-rising stable in General Santos City and is starting to scratch the surface as a boxing promoter.

“I was introduced to boxing at an early age. I learned the sport when I was eight years old. For three years, I fought in several amateur fights,” Manangquil said, recalling how his love affair with the sport began.

However, at 15 years old, Manangquil decided to hang up his gloves for good. “My parents knew the dangers of the sport so they advised me to quit,” he said.

But passions don’t die easily, so Manangquil found a way to indulge in his interest without risking life and limb. In 2007, he started promoting boxing events in General Santos. Two years  later, he and businessman Dexter “Wangyu” Tan formed Sanman Promotions.

Manangquil is the chief operating officer (CEO) of Sanman Promotions, while Tan, owner of San Andres Fishing Industries, is the chief financial officer (CFO).
Manangquil’s older brother John Ray also helps him in the marketing aspect.

“I have already promoted at least 35 boxing cards, but my goal is to continue to improve as a promoter,” said Manangquil, who got into boxing promotion through the guidance of Cebu-based promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud, a close friend of his mom.

STRIKING A BALANCE
For Manangquil, it’s about striking a balance between finding his niche in boxing and performing his role in the family business.

“Half of my day is spent in the boxing gym. It is stressful juggling boxing and handling family businesses. But this is the path that I wanted. No one forced me to be here. I just want to help the sport and produce world champions.”

As a promoter, Manangquil’s dream is to mount world-class fights.

“The challenge is how to put up quality fights. You need quality matchmaking. You need to study the capabilities of the boxers. You have to please the fans, that’s why you have to pay attention even to the smallest details like providing towels to the boxers,” said Manangquil.

Boxing cards promoted by Sanman were mainly held in General Santos. But that could change soon.

“Our plan is to bring our promotion a notch higher. We dream of bringing in big fights to General Santos, and at the same time we are also targeting to hold events in Cebu or Manila early next year,” said Manangquil, who looks up to Top Rank’s Bob Arum as his favorite boxing promoter.

His Sanman Boxing Gym is situated in a one-and-a-half hectare compound and is home to top-quality boxers. It has 14 professional boxers as well as amateur fighters. “The gym is also open to children who are willing to learn the sport.”

One of Manangquil’s prized fighters is Randy Petalcorin, who is the WBA interim world light-flyweight titlist with a 23W-1L-1D, 18KOs record.

The other boxers under Sanman are featherweight Rimar Matuda (7-0, 3KOs), Harmonito de la Torre (16-0, 11KOs), a WBF superfeatherweight champion, Abdul Hamed, Michael Plania (6-0, 3KOs), Markquil Salvaña (8-0, 2KOs), Reymart Gaballo (9-0, 7KOs), Daryl Basadre (14-2-1, 10KOs), John Vincent Moralde, Raymund Tabugon and Jether Oliva (22-3-2, 10KOs).

Basadre is a former WBF Asia Pacific and International champion, while Moralde (13-0, 7KOs) is the WBC-ABC featherweight king. Tabugon (16-3-1, 6KOs) snatched the IBO Intercontinental light-flyweight belt in South Africa last year.

WI-FI GYM
The gym has two trainers and a cook. On the average, Manangquil shells out at least P15,000 a week to sustain the gym’s needs. “You have to make sure they are well-provided. The gym is even equipped with Wi-Fi so they don’t get homesick.”

Even the needs of the boxers’ families sometimes fall on his lap.

“They come to me when the electric bills at home have to be settled or they need tuition fees for their relatives. As their manager, you have to attend to their needs to keep their morale high,” Manangquil said.

In return, Manangquil demands hard work and dedication. “I instill discipline. I tell them to really work hard because this is for their family.”

While he is sensitive to their needs, the youthful manager doesn’t treat erring boxers with kid gloves.

“There were boxers who got kicked out of the gym because of their wrong attitude. I always remind them to have the right attitude because what they do in the gym is what they will become on top of the ring come actual fights,” he said.

All of 22, but speaking like a seasoned pro.