ALA Promotions was a boxing promotions company based in
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. It is known for promoting prominent Filipino boxers including world champions
Donnie Nietes
Donnie Liboon Nietes (born May 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional boxer. He is a world champion in four weight-classes, having previously held the WBO mini-flyweight title from 2007 to 2011; the WBO and ''The Ring'' magazine junior-flywei ...
and
Milan Melindo
Milan Melindo (born February 29, 1988) is a Filipino professional boxer who held the IBF and IBO light-flyweight titles in 2017. He also challenged for the unified WBA (Super) and WBO flyweight titles in 2013 and the IBF, WBA (Super), and WBC ...
.
History
ALA Boxing was established in 1985 in
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and ...
by businessman Antonio L. Aldeguer, whose initials "ALA" are the namesake of the sports firm.
ALA Boxing through ALA Promotions first rose to prominence in the 1990s after they have organized boxing matches featuring Edito Villamor and
Gerry Peñalosa
Geronimo "Gerry" J. Peñalosa (born August 7, 1972) is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC super-flyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO bantamweight ...
.
In 2006, Michael Aldeguer took over as the chairman and CEO of ALA.
[
ALA partnered with ]Golden Boy Promotions
Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is an American boxing promotional firm based in Los Angeles, California. The company was established in 2002 by eight-time world champion (in six divisions) Oscar De La Hoya, borrowing his nickname "Golden Boy."
Histo ...
to produce the ''Battle of Cebu'' in 2008, which featured the tie of Filipino boxer Z Gorres
Zeta Celestino Oliveros Gorres (born 18 April 1982) is a Filipino former professional boxer who challenged once for the WBO super-flyweight title.
Personal life
Gorres has a brother named Jun Gorres who was formerly a boxer but was stabbed t ...
against Fernando Montiel
Fernando Montiel Martínez (born March 1, 1979) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a multiple-time former world champion in three weight classes, having held the WBO flyweight title from 2001 to 2002, the WBO junior bantamweight title twi ...
of Mexico at the Cebu City Sports Complex
The Cebu City Sports Center, formerly called as Abellana Sports Complex is a track and field and football stadium located in Cebu City, Philippines. The complex was built by the city to serve as the main venue for the 1994 Palarong Pambansa and ac ...
, as well as matches between Filipino and Mexican boxes in Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. ALA also had a partnership with Top Rank
Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...
[ and has organized matches in the United Arab Emirates as well.]
In the 2010s, ALA promoted ties between Filipino boxers including Donnie Nietes
Donnie Liboon Nietes (born May 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional boxer. He is a world champion in four weight-classes, having previously held the WBO mini-flyweight title from 2007 to 2011; the WBO and ''The Ring'' magazine junior-flywei ...
and Nonito Donaire
Nonito Gonzales Donaire Jr. (; ; born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from flyweight to featherweight, and is the oldest boxer in history to win a b ...
, against foreign fighters in its ''Pinoy Pride'' series it produced with ABS-CBN Sports
ABS-CBN Sports was a sports division of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN, which aired some of the notable sporting events in the Philippines.
ABS-CBN Sports began in 1998 as the main broadcaster for the network-backed basketball leagu ...
.[
In 2020, ALA's broadcast partner ABS-CBN ceased operations due to the non-renewal of the media company's franchise. This along with the ]COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
forced the permanent closure of ALA Promotions[ although its affiliate gymnasium chain business, ALA Gym remained operational.][ ]
Boxers
The following are some of the boxers who were affiliated with ALA Boxing:[
*]AJ Banal
Alex John Banal (born December 28, 1988), more commonly known as A. J. “Bazooka” Banal, is a Filipino professional boxer. Banal resides in Ermita, Cebu City, Cebu, where he trains in the city's famed ALA Boxing Gym.
Early life
Banal's interes ...
* Rey Bautista
*Nonito Donaire
Nonito Gonzales Donaire Jr. (; ; born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from flyweight to featherweight, and is the oldest boxer in history to win a b ...
*Z Gorres
Zeta Celestino Oliveros Gorres (born 18 April 1982) is a Filipino former professional boxer who challenged once for the WBO super-flyweight title.
Personal life
Gorres has a brother named Jun Gorres who was formerly a boxer but was stabbed t ...
*Mark Magsayo
Jessel Mark Araula Magsayo (born June 22, 1995) is a Filipino professional boxer who held the WBC featherweight title in 2022.
As of March 2022, Magsayo is ranked as the second best featherweight in the world by '' The Ring'' and the third bes ...
*Milan Melindo
Milan Melindo (born February 29, 1988) is a Filipino professional boxer who held the IBF and IBO light-flyweight titles in 2017. He also challenged for the unified WBA (Super) and WBO flyweight titles in 2013 and the IBF, WBA (Super), and WBC ...
*Donnie Nietes
Donnie Liboon Nietes (born May 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional boxer. He is a world champion in four weight-classes, having previously held the WBO mini-flyweight title from 2007 to 2011; the WBO and ''The Ring'' magazine junior-flywei ...
*Albert Pagara
Albert Pagara (born February 18, 1994) is a Filipino professional boxer. He currently competes in the super bantamweight division and was a WBO and IBF Inter-Continental champion.
Professional boxer Jason Pagara is his older brother.
Early li ...
*Jason Pagara
Jason Pagara is a Filipino professional boxer.
He was a Junior Welterweight WBO international champion in 2011.
Early life
Pagara was born in Maasin, Southern Leyte, where he started boxing at the age of 8, as he played with neighborhood frien ...
*Gerry Peñalosa
Geronimo "Gerry" J. Peñalosa (born August 7, 1972) is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC super-flyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO bantamweight ...
* Jeo Santisima
*Genesis Servania
Genesis Llasos Servania (born August 15, 1991) is a Filipino professional boxer who challenged for the WBO featherweight title in 2017.
Early life
As with many other boxers from the Philippines, Servania came from a poor family before arising in ...
*Jonas Sultan
Jonas Sultan (born December 16, 1991) is a Filipino professional boxer, former IBF World title challenger. He is the current WBO Inter-continental bantamweight champion. He held the IBF Inter-continental junior bantamweight title since December ...
* Arthur Villanueva
References
{{reflist
2020 disestablishments in the Philippines
Professional boxing organizations
Boxing promoters
Sports event promotion companies
Companies based in Cebu City
Entertainment companies established in 1985
Entertainment companies disestablished in 2020
Philippine companies established in 1985
1985 establishments in the Philippines