16TH World Youth Amateur Boxing Championships: Montealto unang pinoy na nasibak

MANILA, Philippines - Kaagad na nasibak ang una sa limang bagitong Fili­pino boxer sa 16th World Youth Amateur Boxing Cham­pionships sa Baku, Azerbaijan kamakalawa.

Natalo si featherweight Nathaniel Montealto ng Puerto Princesa kay Oliwo Kazeem Tosin, 2-7, ng Ni­geria sa isang three-roun­der para sa unang laban ng mga Pinoy.

“Monty needs to stick to the basics,” ani Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) exe­cutive director Ed Picson kasama sina coaches Elmer Pamisa at Sonny Dol­lente. “He tends to go wild in a pinch although I admire his courage and aggressiveness. Monty really needs to gain more experience. These are 17 to 18 year old kids so they’ve got lots of time to improve.”

Nakatakda namang ha­rapin ni lightflyweight Mark Anthony Barriga ng Panabo, Davao del Norte si Zhang Liang ng China, hababng makakatapat ni bantamweight Ricky Dulay ng Calbayog City, Samar si Patrick Velky ng Czech Re­public sa preliminary bouts.

Sasabak rin sa aksyon sina flyweight Jenno Ca­bug­ngan ng Tagbilaran City, Bohol at lightweight Mi­chael Delorino ng Catarman, Northern Samar.

Nakakuha ng bye si Delorino, habang maka­kasagupa naman ni Ca­bugngan si Hong Min ng Korea.

“It’s tough to comment on who got the breaks from the draw because the fighters are all unknown kids with limited experience,” wika ni Picson. “The reputation of our first foes is quite impressive. But our boys aren’t impressed although Monty displayed some opening day jitters. The other boys calmed him down by horsing around and the coaches reassured him.”

Samantala, dinaluhan naman ni AIBA (International Boxing Association) president Dr. Ching Kuo-Wu ng Taiwan ang de­legation managers’ meeting noong Linggo.

Upang makapag-uwi ng gold medal ang isang boksingero, kailangan nitong manalo sa lima niyang laban.