Ladon, Bautista progress to finals

MANILA, Philippines — Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Rogen Ladon and bronze medal winner Ian Clark Bautista overwhelmed their respective foes to barge into the gold-medal round of the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament at the Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort Hotel yesterday.

Ladon overwhelmed hometown bet Thanarat Saengphet, 4-1, to advance to the flyweight finals while Bautista scored a second-round knockout of Vietnamese Nguyen Van Duong to make the featherweight finale.

“I just did what my coaches told me to do, which is to go inside-out and be resourceful,” said Ladon of the victory that sent him to the finale versus reigning Asian Championship and Asian Games titlist Amit Panghal of India.

Bautista, meanwhile, advanced to the gold-medal versus 2021 World Championship silver medalist Serik Termizhanov of Kazakhstan.