FILE- The Philippines’ Carlo Paalam reacts as he fights Britain’s Galal Yafai during their men’s fly (48-52kg) boxing final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo on August 7, 2021. (Photo by Luis ROBAYO / POOL / AFP)
PHNOM PENH—Carlo Paalam felt relieved that the worst possible scenario for him at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games had come to pass.
“The pressure is always tremendous when you go up against the host country. There’s fear that you might get cheated,” said Paalam after removing Cambodian Sao Rangsey out of the way in a unanimous victory at the start of his preliminary stint on Saturday.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist stands to have the longest campaign at the men’s bantamweight division, needing to topple all five opponents on his path to the gold medal.
Up next for him is Malaysia’s Daeloniel Mc Delon Bong and while Paalam is the most decorated boxer in the crop, the 24-year-old from Talakag, Bukidnon would rather be on the safe side.
“My mindset is to beat the enemy one at a time. Of course, I would love to have the gold, but there’s a process that I must undergo,” said Paalam, whose first brush with glory at the SEA Games was a light flyweight title back in 2019 Manila.
Paalam threw a thunderclap of punches at the Cambodian, most of them landing on Rangsey’s head to the dismay of the wildly cheering hometown crowd.
At one point, Paalam got caught with an elbow, but it hardly concerned him at all.
“I kept on assessing and hit him in the face several times. I got hit, but it was his elbow. My entire game plan was built on how I can score,” said Paalam.
Other blockades waiting to get a piece of Paalam are Indonesia’s Aldoms Suguro and Vietnam’s Van An Tran, both of whom should hurdle their rivals on the way to medal rounds.
“Four more. I have the most number of fights and I see this as a challenge,” said Paalam.
He will slide back to flyweight (51kg) in future fights, the weight class that rewarded him a silver medal in the 2021 Olympics, after the SEA Games.
“I have to trust and listen to my coaches. It all will depend on how I can condition myself every fight,” added Paalam.