Every boxing aficionado from almost every corner of the world knows whoManny Pacquiao is. Every time he steps into the ring, Unfazed, "Pacman", as he is aptly called, in a David-like fashion valiantly takes on giants of the boxing world. Through blood, sweat and tears, he doesn't only pack a wallop of a punch but also gives his fellow countrymen a moment to be proud of as he showcases Filipino talent for the world to see. As exciting as his matches are, Filipino amateur boxers are trying their best to start their own campaign to capture that elusive Olympic boxing gold, a feat we are still trying to accomplish after years of hardship and downfalls.

Philippines is one of the remaining countries who has managed to win all except a gold medal since the beginning of the Olympics in 1896. We only managed to win a total of 9 medals; half of them were won by boxers. The closest we've got in achieving such feat came in the 1996 Olympic games held in Atlanta, when Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco lost in a highly controversial gold medal match against Bulgaria's Daniel Petrov Bujilov. In the succeeding Olympics Games, we failed to net a single medal even after garnering accolades from different international boxing events and meets. Now with less than 2 years till the start of the 2012 London Olympics, Will we ever get a taste of gold or is this reality just a mere dream?  

The implementation of a grassroots program to help fund the development of our amateur boxers has already begun. Suntok Ginto aims to harness the Philippine national team and give boxers world-class training and build facilities for boxers with the hopes of getting gold in the upcoming Olympics. Even though backing by the private sector has been generous for the past few years, it's still not enough to create an Olympic-level sports program. Funding has always been a problem; resources are spread over different sports. As a result; our athletes fail to deliver what they are expected to. We should only focus in a sport in which there's a big chance of getting gold. Like our Asian neighbor, Thailand invested heavily in their boxing program and in 1996 the fruits of their labor finally paid off as they won their first gold medal. On the same note, Suntok Ginto serves as a wake-up call to the Filipino people to unite and fight for a single cause-a gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Games. 

Despite dominating the boxing games in the recently concluded Asian Games in Guangzhou, the attention given by the Filipino people and the government to our pinoy boxers has waned and pushed aside by other mainstream sports such as basketball and our recent favorite, soccer. With the Olympics just around the corner, the road to the top is still filled of obstacles and challenges and it's definitely a steep one.