AIBA accepts Manny’s decision

MANILA, Philippines – In the wake of the exit of flyweight Ian Clark Bautista and welterweight Eumir Marcial from contention at the AIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, over the weekend, the Philippines is left with only lightflyweight Rogen Ladon and lightweight Charly Suarez to carry the boxing flag in Rio this August.

Newly elected Sen. Manny Pacquiao would’ve been awarded a Tripartite Commission Invitation (TCI) or wildcard ticket to Rio but the eight-division world champion declined the offer to focus on his legislative obligations.

 ABAP executive director Ed Picson, who is in Baku, said he explained to AIBA president Dr. Ching Kuo Wu the circumstances surrounding Pacquiao’s decision. “Dr. Wu didn’t let on if he was pissed but I’m sure he’s disappointed,” he said. “But I explained to him Manny’s dilemma regarding his new role as Senator and he seemed to accept it. I haven’t gotten any word on other pros fighting in Rio. But talking to some of my counterparts, the sentiment is that pros are starting to realize it’s not going to be easy adjusting to Olympic-style boxing. If ever there will be takers, it might be those who turned pro fairly recently and can still fight Olympic-style.”

Dr. Wu had counted on marquee fighters like Pacquiao, Amir Khan and Wladimir Klitschko to celebrate the debut of pros in Olympic competition but now, it looks like the big names won’t be in Rio.

The Philippines failed to notch a single win in Baku despite the absence of highly touted contenders from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the divisions where Bautista and Marcial fought. There are 250 slots for men’s boxing in Rio and so far, 213 have been claimed. Thailand has qualified four fighters and the US, six. Countries with at least 10 qualifiers are Russia, UK, Cuba and China with 10 each, Uzbekistan with 11 and Kazakhstan with 12. Other Asian countries with qualified fighters are Chinese-Taipei, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Jordan and India with one apiece.  Korea and Indonesia have not qualified a fighter.

“We would’ve brought in three fighters to Baku but Mario Fernandez decided to withdraw because he didn’t want to risk fighting with the thought of his eye condition in the back of his mind,” said Picson. “Mario complained of double vision while training in Baguio three weeks ago. We brought him to the PLDT Medical Baguio which referred him to an ophthalmologist who discovered the cataract in his left eye. We took him to another ophthalmologist for a second opinion and the condition was reconfirmed. Although it’s not life-threatening, this is boxing and the cause of the condition was trauma so we didn’t want to take the risk. We would rather that Mario continues with the tests and treatments the doctors have lined up for him and hopefully, he can fully recover and fight another day.”

Fernandez would’ve fought in the bantamweight division where in the Asia/Oceania qualifiers last April, he fell a win short of an Olympic ticket by losing in a box-off of semifinal losers like Marcial. Fernandez won gold medals at the 2013 and 2015 Southeast Asian Games so he would’ve likely clinched a spot in Rio.

In Baku, first to fall was Bautista who bowed to Spain’s Jose Kelvin de la Nieve Linares, a two-time Olympian and a naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic. The three judges – Nataliya Tsoy of Kazakhstan, Clemente Carrillo of Ecuador and Tony Germain of Canada – turned in identical scores of 29-28 for Linares.

Next to drop out was Marcial, the No. 1 seed in the 69-kilogram class. He needed three wins for an Olympic slot but couldn’t even deliver one. Marcial, 20, lost a split decision to Germany’s Abass Baraou. Iranian judge Bobak Bordbar scored it 29-28 for Marcial but Kheira Sidi Yakoub of Algeria and Roushan Huseynov of Azerbaijan saw it 29-28 for Baraou. The three judges gave the second round to Marcial but Baraou swept the third to clinch it.

“Bautista gave it his all and thought he won,” said Picson. “Same thing with our coaches Boy Velasco and Romeo Brin. Several other coaches, some we don’t even know, came up to us and felt YanYan won but in the final analysis, what counts is what the three judges think. The fight was close in the first two rounds. YanYan went to the body early to soften up Linares and it looked like the strategy was working. Linares showed signs of wilting so we thought we won the second round. By the third, it was obvious Linares was spent. If the fight lasted longer, Linares would’ve folded up. But the judges gave Linares the first two rounds and YanYan, the third. Maybe, the fact that they saw Linares winning the first round also convinced them to give the second to him. The third round was hands down, YanYan’s.”

Picson said Marcial was baited to fight Baraou’s toe-to-toe style. “The plan was to fight from a distance but I think Eumir wanted to impress,” he added. “Eumir exchanged punches in the third and seemed to get the shorter end of the deal. He also complained about his hand, which he hurt in China.”

The four semifinalists and the quarterfinalist to lose to the eventual gold medalist in the flyweight and welterweight divisions will earn tickets to Rio. In the welterweight division, fighters from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Cuba and Thailand have secured slots for Rio so there was a clear path for Marcial to make his move. Marcial was one of 47 welterweights vying for Olympic tickets in Rio. Only nine of 28 slots in the division remain available. Three more will be filled at the AIBA Pro Boxing/World Series of Boxing Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela on July 3-8 but the competition is open only to AIBA licensed pros. The Philippines’ only AIBA licensed pros are Suarez who has already qualified for Rio and lightflyweight Mark Anthony Barriga who has left the ABAP pool. A TCI slot will also be awarded in the division.