Two more Filipino boxers advanced, while one fell by the wayside, in the 2019 AIBA Elite Men’s World Championship at Ekaterinburg, Russia.
Saturday went well for the Filipinos as both flyweight Carlo Paalam of Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga’s Eumir Felix Marcial both disposed of their rivals convincingly.
Lightweight James Palicte won the first round of his fight versus Jose Manuel Viafara of Colombia, but eventually lost a unanimous decision Friday.
Paalam displayed masterful footwork and timely combinations to thwart a more experienced Hungarian, Istvan Szaka, and earn the nod of the judges, 5-0.
Marcial’s victory was even more spectacular as he stopped the tournament’s No. 2 middleweight seed, Tarik Allali of Morocco, in the very first round.
The Moroccan was attacking when the dusky Zamboangueno countered with a cracking left-right combination that put Allali on the seat of his pants.
The referee gave the mandatory 8-count and eventually stopped the fight, declaring Marcial the winner by RSC (Referee Stopped Contest).
Light heavyweight John Marvin won his first fight but suffered an ugly gash over his left eye that required stitches and the coaches, led by former Olympians Ronald Chavez and Roel Velasco and foreign consultant Don Abnett (Australia) decided to sideline him for the rest of the tournament to avoid further damage.
Featherweight Ian Clark Bautista faces an Argentinian boxer, Mirko Jejiel Cuello of Argentina.
