Bago city: Bago City in Negros Occidental, the hometown of boxing greats Roel and Mansueto Velasco Jr., is poised to become the regional training center to develop top-notch Filipino boxers, coaches, and officials. Eyed for formal launch next month, the initiative will be formalized through a tripartite agreement among the Philippine Sports Commission, Bago City, and the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) as the national sports association.

According to Philippines News Agency, ABAP president Marcus Manalo highlighted a productive planning session for Bago City's launch as a regional training center for boxing. The announcement was made in an interview posted by the city government. Earlier in the day, the ABAP delegation led by Manalo, secretary general Sebastian Ripoll, and regional director Nonong Verdeflor met with Mayor Marina Javellana-Yao, who assured the national sports body of the city government's full support for boxing development and facility modernization.

"Our discussion with the mayor mainly revolved on all the programs related to that, like the training center, competitions, and education programs for the boxers, coaches, and technical officials," Manalo said. He expressed gratitude to the mayor for the support, noting that Bago City has produced Olympic medalists, as well as Asian and Southeast Asian Games champions in boxing. Roel Velasco is a bronze medalist in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, while his younger brother, Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco Jr., bagged a silver in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

ABAP secretary general Ripoll commented on the significance of the initiative, noting that the organization has not undertaken such an effort for some time, particularly in accrediting coaches and technical officials.