Bare-bones gym breeds Olympians in Philippine boxing capital Bago

BAGO CITY, Philippines – 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 that has some of the country's starkest rich-poor divides, the city of 200,000 calls itself the Philippines "boxing capital".

Eight of the 70 Filipino boxers to have made it to the Olympics got their start at the Bago City gym.

Boxers there work out on peeling punching bags under the buzz of giant old electric fans straining to give some relief from the oppressive tropical heat.

The most recent Bago Olympian, Rio 2016 light-flyweight Roger Ladon, failed to qualify for Paris leaving the city pining for a new poster boy.

"Life is hard here. Job opportunities are limited," said coach Larry Semillano, a Bago native who fought at lightweight in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

His 17 wards are mostly children of farmers, construction workers and tricycle drivers.

"To them, if they excel in it they believe they will have a better life," said Ignacio Denila, the city government's executive assistant for sports.

"All of them idolize (Manny) Pacquiao," Denila told AFP, referring to the eight-weight world champion, who was also born in poverty, on the southern island of Mindanao.

"I hope to be recruited into the national team in order to join competitions and win medals abroad," AJ Vicente, 17, one of Semillano's current hopefuls, told AFP.

Bago lightweight Leopoldo Cantancio blazed the Olympic trail when he made it to the 1984 Los Angeles Games, reaching the round of 16. He also fought at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Bago fighters have since won one Olympic silver medal and one bronze.

Though Filipino boxers have yet to win gold, eight of the country's 14 Olympic medals so far came from boxing — three silvers and five bronze.

Semillano believes Vicente, a right-handed flyweight who won a bronze at the Philippine national games last year, has a "70%" chance of eventually making