"THE MAASIN BOMBER” ALEX AROY

"THE MAASIN BOMBER” ALEX AROY


Alex Aroy first trained as an amateur boxer under the Maasin City Sports Council, with me as the Chairman, and with the late Tiny Espina, then with Ramil Entia as trainers. He was later managed by Rex “Wakee” Salud under trainer Anol Jaca. He was so proud being a Maasinhon that he used the alias “Maasin Bomber” and “Batang Maasin.”

I accompanied Alex and company to Cebu City in 1999 when they competed in the National Youth Amateur Boxing Championships. His companions at that time were Darius Dag-uman, Jegner Ayaay, Mario Caube, and Adonis Aguelo, all of Maasin City.  When they turned professional, Dag-uman was with the Omega Boxing Club, Ayaay was once taken by the ALA Gym, Aguelo is now training under Brix Flores, while Caube did not turn pro and has retired from boxing.

During the said tournament, Alex won his initial bout but lost in the next fight. He had weight problems and we had to cover him with a large plastic to perspire in order to reduce. It took a tool on his second fight. Weigh-in in the amateurs is done daily before each fight. But like in his professional career, Alex was never been knocked down in his amateur days.


It was Darius who introduced Alex to trainer Anol Jaca. I took the initiative of promoting five of his fights in Maasin City to let our local fans witness how the rising hometown boxer swiped opponents with his stinging punches. The Maasin City Sports Council tied up with Salud to sponsor his fights in Maasin and Alex did not fail his kababayans.

He had his pro debut in Jakarta, Indonesia in October 23, 2003 by winning on points
 against Indonesian Donny Suratin in eight rounds despite hostile crowd. Since then, he compiled straight wins against Roy Fuentes, Ruther del Castillo, Rogelio Bardon, Rex Madrid, Elmar Francisco, Michael Rodriguez, Allan Dugang, and over Rolando Baclayo, in his first fight in Maasin.

He tasted first defeat in the hands of Rollen del Castillo. He had a technical draw with Noel Veronque at the City Gym in his first pro fight in Maasin.  He lost a technical decision over Milan Melindo in a six-round non-title fight in the undercard of the Z Gorres-Fernando Montiel bout in the Cebu City Sports Center.

He did not lost in his hometown and he won the Philippine Boxing Federation light-flyweight title against Dennis Juntillano at the City Gym, becoming the first Maasin boxer to win a national title.

His father Nemesio “Benny” Aroy in Barangay Maria Clara was a former boxer and it was he who was his son’s first trainer. He had high hopes that his son someday would become an international or even a world champion.  It was not an impossible dream because of his performance in an international championship in South Africa.


The people of Maasin City pinned our hopes on Aroy as our first world champion. We had produced such nationally rated boxers as Romy Roa, Al Tan Lee, Bert Lozano, Jun Tan Sato, among others.

All went for naught in that forgettable evening in South Africa and the hopes of producing another World Boxing Council (WBC) international champion, in the same category as that of Manny Pacquiao, were vanished.

WBC International minimumweight champion Zukisani Kwayiba of South Africa was on the verge of getting floored by the hard-hitting Aroy in rounds six and seven, but the lights in the boxing ring mysteriously went off. While the other parts of the hotel-casino were still well with electricity.

When the ring power failure occurred, Kwayiba immediately went down the ring and took off his gloves, sensing the lights will never return, while Aroy stayed on top of the ring waiting for the power to be restored.  Seven minutes had passed and the judges decided to go to the scorecards per WBC rules and Kwayiba won by Majority Technical Decision in round seven. Very oddly, the lights were back immediately after the verdict was announced.

Unfortunately Aroy was behind on points as he was known as a slow starter and was relying heavily on his superb knockout punch. But South African fans were not all highly-partisan as they booed the notorious outcome of the fight.  It was quite astonishing that a prestigious hotel and casino such as Carousel in South Africa has no standby power while hosting such a reputed WBC international title fight.

Aroy became an instant hero in South Africa forcing promoter Branco Milenkovic to let him fight again in this country. Everywhere he went in Temba, boxing fans would be shouting “Aroy! Aroy!”  Because of the dream turning a nightmare, Aroy turned into an instant celebrity in the world of boxing. He became known not only in the country but in the international boxing scene as well.

South African promoter Branco Milenkovic was so disgusted by the performance and the controversial victory of Kwayiba that he considered staging a rematch even if WBC did not order so.  We were offered by Salud to host the WBC international title fight involving Alex in Maasin, but we refused because the budget involves millions of pesos and the city government was not ready to spend such a hefty sum.

Although the rematch with Kwayiba did not materialize because Aroy exerted a lot of effort in reducing to get the 105-lb. mini-flyweight limit. It also contributed to the sluggish first few rounds he had with Kwayiba.  So he had to fight on
 the next higher weight category.

Aroy again failed to win the World Boxing Council international crown without throwing a single punch in the same jinxed South African venue which is famous for hometown decisions and controversial outcomes in boxing.  His South African opponent WBC international light-flyweight champion Phumzile Matyhila was stripped of his title when he failed to make the weight limit when he tipped the scales three kilograms overweight. Organizers cancelled the bout and Matyhila was stripped of his belt.

The return bout with Arnel Tadena was considered by many in Maasin as conceded in favor of our local hometown boxing hero. For during the first encounter with Tadena on Maasin fiesta vesper day on August 14, 2007, Alex was very much ahead on points in the three judges’ scorecards when an accidental head butt cut Tadena’s head in the second round. Upon Dr. Teodulo K. Salas, Jr.’s advice, Tadena was declared unfit to continue and the bout was declared a technical draw.

Maasin boxing fans were dismayed not seeing the imminent knockout coming through. They wanted to see Alex sending Arnel kissing the canvass, but to their disappointment. Thus, a rematch was the order of the day. But the “Maasin Bomber” was slated to fight Kwayiba in South Africa so the rematch did not materialize.

Prior to the rematch, Aroy had a 12-5-2 (6 KOs) win-loss-draw card, while Tadena’s professional record was 7-3-2 (4 KOs). Aroy was rated RP No. 7 light-flyweight contender, while Tadena was the RP No. 6 mini-flyweight contender. The fight was scheduled for ten rounds for the PBF light-flyweight title.

The much-awaited rematch with Tadena occurred on that forgettable Villaba, Leyte encounter. Already feeling weak because there were reports that he had a fever a few days before the fight and he did not have adequate practice for the bout, he lost by unanimous decision to the fighter who had prepared well for the rematch.

But with a warrior-like attitude that he had, he did not retreat from a challenge to prove who was the better fighter from among the two protagonists. Unfortunately though, the Divine Providence had favored to take away his life at a very early age of 23. He did not live long enough to get another crack at the WBC international title we longed for him to take.

I received an early morning cellular phone call on February 5, 2008 from Rex “Wakee” Salud matchmaker Willie Flores breaking the news about the death of our local boxing hero. Willie was in tears as he narrated Alex’s heartbreaking situation, how he had the difficulty in urinating before collapsing in his dressing room after the fight. I was tasked to inform his parents about the dreadful incident.

But just minutes later, Alex’s parents came to our house to air their grief on the shocking death of their son. They said they were informed by Alex’s co-boxer Darius Dag-uman. I ordered a vehicle to transport both father and mother from Maasin to Villaba, which is more than three hours drive. The boxer’s remains were already laid at the Puso Funeral Home in Palompon, Leyte, more than forty kilometers from Villaba.

The promoters and GAB personnel proposed an autopsy on Alex’s remains, but upon learning that it will be brought to Tacloban, more than four hours drive from Palompon, because the town lacks the necessary facilities, the parents decided to waive the planned autopsy and bring the body back immediately home.  According to his parents, we could not bring Alex back to life even if an autopsy had to be conducted.

I always regarded our boxers as my adopted sons and Alex had been a pet since he brought honor and glory not only to the city but as well as to the country.  Whenever he was in Maasin, he never failed to visit me in the office to pay a courtesy call.  If ever they had problems, his mother would
 visit me at home or at the office.

One of the many controversies that hounded Alex was when he fought for the WBC Youth championship and lost to Thai Oleydong Sithsamerchai in Petchaboon, Thailand and was not paid his purse by the Filipino promoter. His mother cried and aired his misery to me when the incident happened. It was just one of the many tempests that Alex encountered in his short pro career.

I went to Manila just right after his shocking death and had a meeting with Games and Amusements Board Chairman Eric Buhain and GAB Boxing Division Chief Dr. Nasser Cruz. The amiable doctor explained that probable causes of Aroy’s death could be a failure in pancreas, spleen, liver or bladder. He added only an autopsy can verify officially the real cause of the ring death.

While I told him that Alex had a fever prior to the fight, he said that several boxers had experienced fever before their scheduled encounter and still won. No less than Manny Pacquiao, according to Dr. Cruz, suffered from a fever but still was able to fight after receiving medical treatment. However, Buhain and Cruz assured me that the investigation was already in the works through GAB Visayas in Cebu City.

Buhain said that no less than WBC international secretary Mauro Betti of Italy handed the WBC condolences thru email. According to them Alex was a great loss considering that he was a world rated boxer. Prior to the tragedy, Aroy was rated No. 31 by the WBC in the entire world in the light-flyweight division.

Milenkovic, the South African promoter, was also saddened of the untimely death. He was working a future WBC international fight for Alex which could no longer materialize. No less than world boxing pound-for-pound king Pacquiao extended his condolences and donated assistance thru Salud.  Antonio L. Aldeguer of the famed ALA Gym also extended his condolences and assistance too.


In Alex’s wake, I gathered all boxers, pro and amateur, who were present. Not one of them decided to stop boxing because of the ring tragedy and Aroy’s death challenged them more to give honor to Maasin City where Alex had left. Alex, their inspiration, was buried on February 12, 2008 at the Maasin Cemetery. But the passion among my other “sons” to fight and redeem Alex’s death will not be buried.