One of the more familiar faces at ringside during last Saturday’s Pinoy Pride XXI at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Pasay City was newly retired Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista.
Three months after ALA Promotions announced his retirement after he lost to Mexican Jose Ramirez by split decision in Davao City, Bautista proved he still has immense drawing power as numerous fans mobbed the Boholano boxer for photo-ops.
Bautista talked to Cebu Daily News after the boxing event and revealed the things that made him busy after his untimely retirement from the sport he loved so much.
“I am training the Philippine Air Force cadets in boxing,” Bautista said in Cebuano. “I look at this as a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s an honor to work with the military. They have sacrificed a lot for our country and have given us pride. If I did not become a boxer, I would have been a soldier.”
Bautista is now spending his time at the Villamor Air Base but he denies talks that he is training to be a pilot. “I just teach the air force personnel the basics of boxing. I don’t have a formal military rank yet.”
Bautista turned 27 last June and is spending more time with his family and is a proud father of a five-month old son, Rey Gabriel. He laughed off the suggestion that his son will also take up boxing.
“No, I don’t want him to be a boxer.”
A world title eluded Bautista in his ten year pro career. He lost his challenge to then WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon of Mexico by first round TKO in 2007. ‘Boom Boom’ has won many regional titles and was tagged as one of the most exciting fighters in the country and a huge crowd drawer. He had a successful ring return after undergoing surgery on his left wrist after his second career loss to Heriberto Ruiz in 2008.
After winning eight straight bouts, including a revenge seven-round technical decision win over Ruiz in 2011 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, Bautista lost to Ramirez at the USEP Gym prompting ALA Gym patriarch Antonio Aldeguer and his son, ALA Promotions President and CEO Michael Aldeguer to decide that their biggest draw should hang up his gloves.
BAUTISTA VOWS TO FIGHT AGAIN
‘Boom Boom’ is not just popular in the fight game. He is also one of the rare financial success stories in Philippine boxing.
While most Filipino boxers, even those who won world titles, wind up destitute and penniless in retirement, Bautista made sure he won’t be in the same pathetic situation. The heavy-punching boxer disclosed that he invested some of his earnings in several business ventures. He also owns several tricycles and jeepneys which he rents out in his native Bohol.
Is his retirement final?
“No,” Bautista was emphatic about this. “I am still planning on fighting again. But I want to concentrate on my work with the air force first because this is a very rare opportunity for me. It doesn’t matter if they give me a rank or not, but I want to work with them. However, I am still looking forward to boxing again.”