INTERVIEW: ROMMEL LLANES
PHOTOGRAPHY: PAOLO PINEDA
Do you get angry at American boxing commentators whenever they mispronounce your name?
I don’t really care. I’ve grown up hearing that last name. Whether they say “Dow-neyr” or “Do-nigh-re,” it’s fine by me. It’s not a big issue. If they can’t, it doesn’t really matter as long as they know who I am.
Who gave you the nickname “The Filipino Flash”?
Back in high school, I was always on the tracks, racing people and stuff. People say I’m too fast and started calling me “The Filipino Flash,” after the comics superhero. There’s no particular writer or person who gave me that name. It just happened and it stuck from then on. Especially when I started wearing the red shorts, which is actually my way of representing the Philippines. My brother [Glenn] wears blue.
