CEBU CITY, Philippines - Romanian Ambassador Valeriu Gheorghe paid an unexpected visit to the ALA Gym-Nasipit on Tuesday to personally see the fabled boxing gym that has caught his attention.Cebu Consul to Romania Grand Benedicto joined him in the afternoon visit, which came at a time when amateur and professional boxers were holding their daily training and children, as young as nine years old, came in for their own boxing training. Cebu’s prominent boxing patron Antonio “Tony” Aldeguer welcomed Gheorghe with pleasure as he toured him around the bustling gym, overflowing with young pugilists, with the professional warriors slugging it out against the bags and weights and at each other in no-holds-barred sparring rounds and the very young beginners spread around the grassy oval shadow boxing. Gheorghe took special notice of the fact that poor children are able to get in and out of the gym for a free boxing training. He noted that considering the expensive boxing equipment in the gym, “it fascinates me to learn that no government funds came into it.” The gym is an out-of-pocket work of Aldeguer for the less-privileged future warriors of Cebu.
Romania is home to at least 31 Olympic medalists, former world amateur boxing champions such as Marian Simion and Zulta Lunka, and world professional boxing champions in the likes of Mihai Leu (reigning WBO welterweight), Lucian Bute (IBF super middleweight), Leonard Doroftei (former WBA lightweight), and still undefeated Adrian Diaconu (WBC light heavyweight). | 
