Sports Bare-bones gym breeds Olympians in Philippines’ boxing capital Bago

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BAGO CITY: At a bare-bones gym in the central Philippines, children from poor families in torn shoes put on frayed head guards and get to work in pursuit of their Olympic boxing dream — and a way out of poverty.

Aged 10-18, the young boxers spar in the Bago city gymnasium after school before sleeping under the ring’s canvas at night.

Located on the island of Negros, in the sugar-growing region which has some of the country’s starkest rich-poor divides, the city of 200,000 calls itself the Philippines’ “boxing capital.”

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