Because of Thailand‘s unresting protest rallies,the (–foul word(s) removed–)ociation of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines decided not to join the Asian Youth Championships which started today until January 31 at Bangkok, Thailand.
ABAP President Ricky Vargas confirmed the said move ogf the organization due to the host‘s country‘s conditionw which was recently raised to the declaration of state of emergency by the Thai Government.
“We hope that our apprehensions are eventually proven unfounded, we choose to be safe rather than sorry. These are young boys aged 17-18 years old and we cannot risk their safety,‘‘ Vargas said on Spin.Ph interview.
This competition was supposed to be part of the preparation of young Filipino boxers heading to the World Youth Championships set on April at Sofia, Bulgaria, a qualifying event for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China this August.
“We’ll have to look for another foreign trip for the boys to give them exposure before Bulgaria,” Vargas said.
Among the filipino fighters who supoosed to represent the country were light flyweight Dannel Maamo,flyweight Hipolito Banal, bantamweight Presco Carcosia, and welterweight Sammy Bernabe Jr. Together with them are coaches Romeo Brin and Ronald Chavez, headed by Abap executive director Ed Picson.