WORLD Junior Boxing Championship bronze medalist Jade Bornea exacted revenge over Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev yesterday to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2013 ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships at Subic gym in Subic Freeport.
Pitted against his tormentor in the semifinals of the Armenia World Juniors last December, Bornea landed a hard right straight that sent Akhmadaliev down for a referee-stopped-contest (RSC) decision at the 2:17 mark of the third round.
Bornea underscored his hitting prowess by sending the Uzbek to the canvas twice in the first round of their light flyweight (49 kg) bout. Akhmadaliev, however, came back in the second and also knocked down Bornea twice.
With the specter of another defeat looming, Bornea uncorked a closing flurry and nailed the Uzbek to sustain the Filipinos’ win run in the 24-nation event organized by the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines.
“I got my revenge,” said Bornea, who was ahead after two rounds in the World Juniors but lost steam due to the freezing cold and a bout of cough in Armenia.
Ed Picson, the Abap executive director, was thrilled with the victory.
“Bornea is one of our candidates for a medal in this tournament, so it was doubly pleasant for him to win against Akhmadaliev,” said Picson.
National coach and three-time Olympian Romeo Brin said the right blow that put away the Uzbek for good was actually Bornea’s signature punch.
Bornea will next face Kyrgyzstan’s Rakhmankul Avatov, who won, 11-7, over Bangladesh’s Ariful Islam, for a spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, reigning World Youth Boxing champion Eumir Felix Marcial faces China’s Wang Qingqui in the 64 kg quarterfinals today with the winner advancing to the light welterweight silver medal bout.
Three other Filipinos were to see action late last night. They were Ian Clark Bautista against China’s Lin Wei Lu in the flyweight class; Jonas Bacho versus Sri Lanka’s Ruchira Gunasena in the bantamweight category; and James Palicte opposite Kazakhstan’s Askhat Nametkerim in the lightweight division. Roy Luarca