SEA Games: Rogen Ladon enters flyweight boxing semis

Roger Ladon during his men’s boxing flyweight match in the Southeast Asian Games. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Rogen Ladon of the Philippines barged into the semifinals after taking a majority decision win (4-1) over Indonesia’s Aldoms Sugoro in men’s boxing flyweight division in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games Thursday at PICC Forum.

Gauging his Sugoro in the first two rounds, Ladon seemed tentative at first opting to create distance and play defensively against the more aggressive Indonesian.

Ladon started the third round with an aggressive mindset, first landing a flurry of body shots on Sugoro then following it up with a devastating left hook.

Sugoro also had his moments in the third but Ladon had the better offense and defense throughout the bout.

“We wanted to look at the style of our opponent first because he’s also a dangerous boxer,” said Ladon, who is now assured of a bronze, in Filipino.

He added that the team’s training camp with members of the Australian national team gave them a different dimension in the SEA Games.

The Philippine and Australian national teams trained together at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in the weeks leading up to the biennial meet.

“They helped us a lot because we got different styles from them and we can easily apply what we learned in training,” said Ladon, who is looking for the first gold medal of his career.

His highest rank in the continental level was a silver medal in the 2018 Asian Games and a bronze medal in the 2015 Aiba World Boxing Championships. Both of his accolades came in the light flyweight division.