Interview by Rui Pastorin
Years ago, Alvin Salinas never imagined that he would be boxing and winning fights. But on November 30, the 22-year-old local Filipino did just that: he had won his first amateur boxing belt at the Ultimate Extreme Fight (UEF) at the Wan Chai Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong against last year’s champion Yang Pang Li (楊鵬里).
To Salinas, the moment felt surreal, even as he spoke with The Young Post at the Macau Boxing Association (MBA) gym in the Hap Si Industrial Building on Rua Seis do Bairro da Areia Preta, days after winning the fight, where he earned the 63.5kg Ultimate Extreme Fight (UEF) Golden Belt.
On the day of the fight, Salinas, who took up boxing at 17, said that when he entered the ring that day, he was not that nervous and felt prepared. However, the fight was not going to be easy, he pointed out, adding that he hadn’t fought a pressure fighter quite like Yang.
The first of the three-round bout was challenging, with Salinas saying that he found it hard to adapt to his opponent, who kept the pressure on. And by the end of the first round, he said he felt that he had lost. “But I was waiting, waiting, and waiting. Then I really observed him and how he fights. And then I adapted to it”.
In the following two rounds, Salinas found his rhythm, being able to maintain control, land hard punches and earn points. By the end, he won the fight 2:1.
On the win, Salinas said that although his belt wouldn’t compare to any professional one, it meant a lot to him, having never expected to win anything before, especially when he was younger. “This belt means a lot to me because it really shows that the hard work, blood, sweat and tears really paid off during training”, thanking his team, coach Ng Kuok Kun (aka KK and The Macau Kid) and himself for not giving up.
Salinas also went on to greatly credit his time at the Elorde Boxing Gym in the Philippines, where he spent three weeks training with professional boxers. And while there, he would not only train and learn what a professional boxer’s life was like, but he was surrounded by people who shared the same passion he has for the sport, all the while picking up things he had never learnt before. He emphasised that the training camp really helped him a lot, adding that had he decided not to go, he would have regretted it.
Moreover, Salinas also reflected on his boxing journey and remarked on the challenges of training in Macau, a place where it can be quite difficult to train as not many people know about the sport, let alone want to train with someone, said Salinas, who said he mostly trained alone. “You have to really get out of your comfort zone. If you really want this, you need to either go out of Macau to train, to fight, to know new people”. And while at the camp, the young boxer said it was a time when he felt like he had stepped out of his comfort zone after being in Macau for so long.
Aside from meeting others and training outside of the city, challenging himself to go against fighters better than him was also important. “Fighting someone who is better than me is much more valuable than me winning all the time”.
Though he said that there is still a lot to learn and improve on as a fighter, the recent bout gave him more confidence in himself and in his skills as a fighter. “I think this belt really gives me the proof I need, that I am capable of fighting” as well as competing.
He wants keep training and pursue the sport further down the line, having dreams of competing more outside Macau and Asia, as well as to continue learning from others, which is valuable in the difficult sport of boxing. Moreover, he hopes to not just fight internationally, but let everyone know that in the small city of Macau, there are athletes capable of competing in different parts of the world too.
The Macau-born athlete, who speaks Cantonese, also hopes to inspire others, including other Filipinos in the city. “I want to inspire Macau people, especially Macau athletes. We may come from a small city, but I know that we all have heart, that we all have opportunities when we really look for and strive for it. That’s why I really want to inspire people in Macau that they can do it [compete and win] as well, not just in boxing, but any kind of sports in Macau”.
Alvin Salinas (right) poses with coach Ng Kuok Kun (KK) in Hong Kong on November 30. – Photos: Caleb Soriano
Local Filipino amateur boxer Alvin Salinas compete and wins at the Ultimate Extreme Fight (UEF) held at the Wan Chai Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong on November 30.
