5 pugs gain Rio boxing qualifier last 8 | Inquirer Sports

5 pugs gain Rio boxing qualifier last 8

10:13 PM March 29, 2016

QIAN’AN, Hebei Province, China—Welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial, light flyweight Rogen Ladon and bantamweight Mario Fernandez outpunched their respective foes on Monday and joined two other Filipino boxers in the quarterfinals of the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Event at Tangshan Jiujiang Sports Center here.

The top-ranked Marcial lived up to his billing by scoring a TKO victory in the third and last round over Kori Istafanos of Australia.

Ladon, the Bago City fighter who is also ranked No. 1 in his weight class, thwarted a furious rally by his Japanese opponent, Tosho Kashiwasaki, to escape with a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 decision.

Article continues after this advertisement

Back-to-back Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Fernandez proved too much for Turkmenistan’s Yakub Meredov to prevail via three 30-27 scores.

FEATURED STORIES

Marcial, Fernandez and Ladon, a bronze medalist in the World Championships in Doha last year, made the last eight along with lightweight Charly Suarez and female lightweight Nesthy Petecio in the continental tournament that rewards the men’s medalists and the top two women in each class automatic spots in the coming Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Suarez whipped Chinese Taipei’s Lai Chu-en, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26, while Petecio battered Micronesia’s Jennifer Chieng, 40-36, 40-26, 40-35, on Sunday.

Article continues after this advertisement

Marcial unloaded several power punches on the muscular Aussie, a transplanted Sudanese, in the third round, prompting Hungarian female referee Veronika Szuchs to issue a standing 8-count.

Article continues after this advertisement

Szuchs waved Istafanos off after a second standing 8-count later in the round.

Article continues after this advertisement

Flyweight Roldan Boncales Jr. became the tournament’s first Filipino casualty after bowing to fourth seed Oizhas Sattibayev of Kazakhstan, 28-29, 28-29, 27-30. Boncales had won his first assignment against a Vietnamese foe on Saturday.

Tuesday’s quarterfinals will see the five Filipino fighters in action with Ladon battling Al-Kaabi of Iraq, Fernandez taking on Alwadi of Jordan, Suarez clashing with Dheeraj of India, Marcial facing Kazemzadehposhtiri of Iran and Petecio challenging five-time world champion Mery Kom Hmangte of India.

Article continues after this advertisement

“This is where we wanted to be at this juncture,” said Ed Picson, executive director of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap). “At least two more wins for each boxer will get them slots to Rio.”

Abap president Ricky Vargas had earlier pledged cash incentives and extensive training for boxers who will qualify for the Olympics.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: class, India, Rio, tournament

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.