ABAP aims for more qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines – Two boxers have so far qualified for the Rio Olympics and ABAP executive director Ed Picson said yesterday the goal remains to send a team of six with two more tournaments set before the cast of 250 men and 36 women is finalized.

Lightflyweight Rogen Ladon and lightweight Charly Suarez are assured of slots in Rio. Picson said ABAP will send fighters to the AIBA World Women’s Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 19-27 and the AIBA World Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 7-19 in the last push for Rio qualifiers. Another Olympic qualifying tournament, the AIBA Pro Boxing (APB)/World Series of Boxing (WSB), is scheduled in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 13-22 but Picson said no slot is available for the Philippines in the competition.

In the APB/WSB qualifier, the world’s top eight ranked male AIBA pro fighters in 10 weight categories will participate with lightflyweight Mark Anthony Barriga and Suarez the only Filipinos eligible. The situation is academic for the Philippines because Ladon has qualified as a lightflyweight and Suarez has already booked a ticket to Rio. Suarez, however, may compete for tune-up purposes but that decision is still to be made by ABAP. Barriga, the country’s only boxer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, has left the ABAP pool. Because of his APB/WSB ranking, Barriga could compete in Sofia and in case he qualifies for Rio, ABAP will hold a box-off between Ladon and him to determine who advances to Rio.

“Ladon beat Barriga twice in box-offs to decide our lightflyweight contender at the recent Asia/Oceania qualifying tournament in Qian’an,” said Picson. “Barriga has left the ABAP pool and the rumor is he’s turning pro outside of AIBA. He was recently in Tagaytay with some pros who used to be with ABAP like Aston Palicte. We still don’t know what Barriga’s plans are but he’s not going to Sofia. As for Charly, he wants to fight in Sofia as a gauge of his preparedness for Rio. Whether he goes or not is still to be decided.”

Picson said ABAP will send Josie Gabuco, Nesthy Petecio and Irish Magno to Astana. Gabuco will fight in the 48 kilogram class, Petecio 51 kilogram and Magno 54 kilogram. But only Petecio will battle for an Olympic slot as in Rio, the women’s competition is open to only three weight categories – flyweight (48 to 51 kilograms), lightweight (56 to 60) and middleweight (69 to 75). The Astana tournament will feature fights for the world championship in 10 weight divisions.

In Baku, Picson said ABAP will make its last Olympic stand with either Ian Clark Bautista or Roldan Boncales at flyweight, bantamweight Mario Fernandez and welterweight Eumir Marcial. There is a possibility that ABAP could also send lightwelterweight Dennis Galvan but Picson said the decision is not yet final.

“One of our ABAP coaches Boy Velasco is recommending Dennis but nothing is sure at the moment,” said Picson. “In the flyweight division, we are deciding between Bautista and Boncales. Both are capable fighters. Boncales is disciplined and determined while Bautista is the stronger puncher but tends to look for a big shot instead of being patient in scoring points. The coaching staff will decide on whom to send soon.”

Picson said ABAP is keeping a slot open for Manny Pacquiao in the lightwelterweight division. AIBA president Dr. Ching Kuo Wu of Taiwan has invited Pacquiao to lead the way for pros to compete in Rio. While Pacquiao has expressed interest in trying to deliver the country’s first Olympic gold medal, he hasn’t decided to pursue it or not. At the moment, he’s busy campaigning for a Senate seat in next week’s elections.

If Pacquiao decides to fight in Rio, he will be awarded a Tripartite Commission Invitation (TIC) place without going through a qualifying tournament. A TIC is known as a wildcard slot. For men’s boxing, a TIC is allocated in five weight divisions – 56 kilograms, 60, 64, 69 and 75. A TIC will also be given to each of the three women’s weight classes. In the event Pacquiao fights in Rio, he will enter the lightwelterweight division which has a limit of 64 kilograms (141 pounds).

So far, 180 male fighters have qualified for Rio. Thailand has qualified three. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have qualified 11 each, China 10, Russia and Great Britain nine each, Morocco, Brazil and Azerbaijan eight each, Algeria seven, US and France six each, Argentina five and Japan one. Indonesia and Malaysia have not qualified a single fighter. In the women’s division, 21 have qualified, leaving only 15 slots available including 3 TICs.

In Baku, the top five placers in eight men’s divisions (except heavyweight and superheavyweight with only one slot each) and the top four placers in three women’s divisions will go to Rio. “We’re optimistic,” said Picson. “We could qualify four more to complete our team of six. We’re hoping Nesthy makes it in the women’s division. There are five tickets available in the flyweight, bantamweight and welterweight classes in Baku. Then, there is the possibility that Manny will fight in Rio.”