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The
Philippines suffered decisive losses in the first day of
the International Boxing Association (AIBA) World
Championships Tuesday at the
University of
Illinois Pavilion
in Chicago.
Asian
Games champion Joan Tipon fell, 13-5, to Worapoj
Petchkoom of Thailand in a bantamweight match. Later,
Delfin Boholst also fell short against Mai
Maititusunquiong of China, 37-15, in the
light-welterweight class.
Worapoj
took advantage of Tipon’s start and never looked back.
By the
end of the third round, the Thai was ahead, 9-5. Tipon
made one last try to overhaul the lead but Worapoj
wisely stayed away from trouble by clinching and
dancing.
Head
coach Pat Gaspi swore he saw a different fighter face
the Thai. “That’s not the true [Tipon],” he said.
Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez
and former Asian Games champion Ricardo Fortaleza were
on hand to cheer on the Filipinos, albeit in futility.
“It’s
not the end of the world for him and the rest of the
national boxing team,” Ramirez said.
“The
Thai likes to clinch and Joan wasn’t really able to
press the action. Power is nothing in amateur boxing.
It’s a mind game,” Fortaleza said, also taking note of
what he perceived as “biased scoring”.
“The
Thai didn’t even throw a punch, yet getting the scores,”
Fortaleza, who flew from Sydney to be in the Chicago
qualifiers, added.
Following the draw held earlier at the Palmer House
Hilton, the organizers decided to shuffle the schedule.
Originally, Tipon wasn’t scheduled to box Tuesday but
learned of the changes only after the draw.
Charly
Suarez takes on veteran Zorigbaatar Enkhzarig of
Mongolia Wednesday. Like Tipon, Boholst, lightweight
Genebert Basadre and welterweight Willie Lopez, Suarez
is a first-timer in the World Championships
Flyweight Violito Payla fights Andrew Selby of Wales on
October 25, the same day that Basadre battles strong
contender Kolev Ognyan of Bulgaria. Lopez debuts versus
Velibor Vedic.
Meanwhile, bantamweight Gary Russell Jr. and light
welterweight Javier Molina took steps forward in their
quests to qualify for the Beijing Olympics with
victories in the preliminary round of the World Boxing
Championships on Tuesday.
Russell
started things off for the US boxing team when he
soundly defeated
Slovakia’s
Rudolf Dydi. Molina defeated Jamaica’s Rikardo Smith.
Russell
looked cautious during the first two rounds, despite
catching Dydi with a solid left hook in the first. He
took control of the bout in the third round, becoming
more aggressive and battling Dydi with strong
combination punches to the crowd’s chants of “USA.” He
won the match, 13-6.
“Pressure makes diamonds,” Russell said. “I’m trying to
shine everywhere I go.”
Russell
has performed under pressure this year, winning a spot
on the US boxing team by fighting his way through the
challenger’s bracket in Houston. He can qualify for a
trip to Beijing in 2008 by making the quarterfinals.
Russell
was confident that he will go to the Olympics.
“This is
my destiny,” he said. “This is my calling in life right
here.”
The
crowd roared behind Molina as he jumped out to an 8-4
lead in the first round. Molina kept Smith at bay in the
second, then started to run away with the match in the
third round, just like his teammate Russell had done
earlier in the day. In the fourth round, Smith came
after Molina with several straight rights, but Molina
bobbed and weaved around them. Molina completely
outclassed his opponent, winning 37-16. |
