Dela Peña, Pangga bag golds

Homecrowd fires up Pinoys

PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan, Philippines – Pinweight Kenneth dela Peña and flyweight John Vincent Pangga yesterday showed the stuff future Olympians are made of.

Dela Peña, 16, bagged his first gold medal as a boxer by beating Mukhtarov Akilbek of Kazakhstan, 4-1, while Pangga, 15, added the Asian Juniors Boxing Championships gold to his growing collection by turning back Sukthet Sarawut of Thailand, 4-1.

The crowd at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum rallied behind the Filipino boxers, chanting their names as they locked horns with their foreign opponents inside the ring.

Dela Peña, a silver medalist in the 2016 Batang Pinoy, forced a standing eight count in the second round, connecting with a long left straight that tilted his rival’s head backward. 

That proved to be the best punch of the fight, enough to convince four of the five judges to award the victory to the proud native of General Santos City.

Pangga, a four-time gold medalist in the Batang Pinoy and reigning champion in the Palarong Pambansa, gave his all against a familiar opponent, and was awarded with the victory.

Eleven other gold medal bouts were being contestest as of presstime.

Dela Peña sobbed as he faced reporters outside the dressing room but later on flashed a big smile as he locked his gold medal between his teeth.

“First gold medal ko ito. International pa. Puro silver lang ako dati,” said the left-handed boxer, who has two other siblings, including a twin brother, seeking fame and fortune through this brutal sport.

“Pangarap ko maging (It’s my dream to become an) Olympian,” added the native of General Santos City, a provincemate of Pinoy icon Manny Pacquiao but a self-confessed fan of Ukranian WBO super-featherweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko.

“Matapang (He has the guts),” said his head coach, Ronald Chavez, who was assisted at the corner by ex-boxers Romeo Brin and Elmer Pamisa.

Pangga, who hails from Cagayan de Oro, said becoming an Olympian is his biggest motivation. Winning the gold in this tournament among 142 boxers from 18 countries is just the beginning.

“Buong Asia na ito,” said the southpaw who idolizes Pinoy world champion Nonito Donaire Jr.

The Philippines fielded only four entries in the event, and officials should be very happy with the two gold medals.

“I never thought we’d win golds but the kids fought with a lot of heart and they showed a lot of potential in becoming Olympians,” said Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines president Ricky Vargas, who sat at ringside with ABAP vice president Patrick Gregorio and secretary-general Ed Picson.

Pangga took the fight to his opponent, whom he had sparred with during a recent training camp in Thailand. In the opening round, he threw a right hook that seemed to have pulled Sarawut down, causing the referee to trip over the Thai boxer and lose his own balance.

The referee got up and ruled it as a slip.