Maamo succumbs to top seed Cuban

MANILA, Philippines -  Dannel Maamo went the way teammate Rogen Ladon did, out of the 17th AIBA World Championship after losing to Cuban top seed Yosvany Veitia in their round-of-16 flyweight bout at the Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany Monday.

All five judges from Algeria, Trinidad/Tobago, Canada, Germany and India awarded the decision to the 25-year-old southpaw, who settled for the silver two years ago in Qatar and ended up with the bronze in 2013.

Maamo actually started well as he scored on rapid-fire shots to the 25-year-old Veitia’s body in the opening round. But he got a two-point deduction for low blows in the second round alone.

Even in the third, sensing that he badly needs a knockout win, Maamo managed to land some punches.

Still, Veitia had too much experience for the 21-year-old Maamo.

Earlier, Ladon lost to Kazakh Zhomart Yerzhan via a split decision in their lightfly duel, also in round of 16.