Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial gun for boxing semis

MANILA, Philippines — After the door was shut on five Filipino fighters in their first bouts, lightflyweight Carlo Paalam and middleweight Eumir Marcial try to make up for the early setbacks when they battle tough opponents in the quarterfinals at the Asian Games in Jakarta today with the reward of a podium finish awaiting the winners.

It won’t be easy advancing to the semifinals as Paalam faces Kazakh favorite Temirtas Zhussupov while Marcial takes on South Korea’s Kim Jinjen. A win on either front will assure a bronze medal with a chance to go all the way to the final. 

Bowing out in their opening matches were women’s flyweight Irish Magno (to North Korea’s Pang Cho Mi on points, 5-0), women’s featherweight Nesthy Petecio (to China’s Yiu Sun Hua on points, 3-2), bantamweight Mario Fernandez (to Iraq’s Al Sudani Jaafar Abdulridha Ali on a third round knockout), lightweight James Palicte (to Uzbekistan’s Abdurasulov Shunkor on points, 5-0) and welterweight Joel Bacho (to Iran’s Kazemzadeh Poshtiri Sajjad on points, 4-1). Last night, flyweight Rogen Ladon battled Kazakhstan’s Mahmetov Azat in the quarterfinals.

“Obviously, the early losses of Nesthy and Mario were very unfortunate, considering the circumstances,” said ABAP executive director Ed Picson. “We also felt Palicte did enough to win. Irish and Bacho ran into better boxers, no excuses.” Petecio’s disputed loss prompted Picson to send a letter of appeal for impartial scoring to technical delegate Angel Villarreal of the US. Fernandez was ahead on three judges’ scorecards, 20-18 with the count tied, 19-19 on two others when he was caught by a right to the jaw, ending his medal hopes.

Picson said Paalam and Marcial are going for broke in the quarterfinals. “We have faith in them,” he said. “Paalam is up against a top-notch opponent especially since the Kazakhs seem unbeatable in the Asian Games.

He can beat whomever he’s up against. We just hope for fair judging. There are many grumblings about questionable decisions. As I told Mr. Villarreal, this isn’t going to help the cause of AIBA.”  In an AIBA preview of the competition, Paalam was singled out as a main rival of Uzbekistan’s Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov who is shooting for his first Asian Games gold medal. Zhussupov arranged the showdown with Paalam after disposing of Japan’s Tomoya Tsubai on points, 3-2. Paalam, 20, advanced to the quarterfinals via a 5-0 decision over Chinese-Taipei’s Powei Tu on lopsided scores of 30-27 thrice, 30-26 and 29-28.

Marcial, 22, made a rousing Jakarta debut by halting Macau’s Ng Kuok Kun at 2:09 of the second round. Ng, 28, has been a pro since 2013 and boasts a 12-0 record, with 7 KOs. AIBA now allows pros to join its sanctioned competitions like the Olympics and Asian Games. Ng proved no match for Marcial as he was decked once and took three standing eight-counts. Marcial’s next opponent Kim booked a ticket to the quarterfinals after decisioning Indonesia’s Betaubin Brama Hendra, 3-1.

“Definitely, the wins of Carlo and Eumir buoyed up the spirits of the team,” said Picson. “Even Mario was at the venue with all of the other boxers cheering for Carlo and Eumir. Nesthy’s voice stood out over the others because she has a tinny but loud voice. The fighters who are still in contention are extra-motivated after our unfortunate start and especially with the arrival of POC and ABAP president Ricky Vargas at the arena. Carlo and Eumir promised Mr. Vargas they would outdo themselves in the quarterfinals.”