SEA GAMES BOXING GOLD MEDAL QUEST ENDS IN SPECTACULAR FASHION
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 11 Jun 2015
Marcial wins gold.
The Philippines may not have captured the eight gold medals that ABAP president Ricky Vargas was hoping for, but the quest for glory ended in spectacular fashion when Eumir Felix Marcial knocked out host nation Singapore?s Jia Wei Tay in the 2nd round to complete a five gold medal haul which included four of five triumphs for the men and one of three gold medal bids among the women.
The 19 year old Marcial who won a gold medal at the 2011 World Junior Championships capped a glorious run by the Filipinos in the final bout of the boxing competition before a flag waving, cheering squad of Filipinos who included ABAP executive director Ed Picson, Philippine Basketball Association chairman ?Pato? Gregorio and businessman Andrew Teh who is deeply involved with basketball and boxing.
AFP reported that eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao who lost a disappointing showdown with undefeated pound for pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather last May 2 in Las Vegas ?would have been proud had he been there to see Marcial win the men?s welterweight division.?
This commentator who covered the SEA Games boxing finals on Aksyon TV predicted before Marcial stepped into the ring that he would win by a knockout after the had-hitting Filipino overcame tough Thai opponent Apichet Saensit 2-1 in the semi finals.
Displaying the modesty associated with the disciplined and well-mannered ABAP boxers, Marcial credited a so-called ?lucky punch? for his victory which silenced the large Singaporean hometown crowd.
The quest for gold began in the women?s light flyweight division when three-time SEA Games gold medal winner, 28 year old Josie Gabuco beat tough Thai girl Chutha Raksat, the 23 year old who had no real answers to the aggressive Gabuco who had won the gold medal in the 2012 World Women?s Championship in Jeju, South Korea.
After winning the gold, Gabuco said she was ?very happy and very grateful for winning. Thanks to God for giving me another opportunity to get another gold medal in the SEA Games.?
But Gabuco?s teammates, newcomer Irish Magno and veteran Nesthy Petacio in particular were not that lucky. Magno who won the gold medal in the 2012 Taipei City Cup lost to 21 year old Vietnamese Thi Yen Nguyen in the flyweight category while 23 year old Petacio who was a gold medalist at the China Open in 2013 was decidedly unlucky to drop a split decision to 23 year old Thi Bang Le of Vietnam who helped win back-to-back gold medals for the surprisingly talented Vietnamese.
The Philippines disappointments carried over into the opening bout among men when light flyweight Rogen Ladon who was a gold medalist at the 2012 Taipei City Cup tournament lost by a split decision to Indonesia?s sole gold medal winner Kornelis Langu who cried his heart out in obvious joy after being declared winner in a close bout that could have gone either way.
Flyweight Ian Clark Bautista, a victim of a barefaced robbery in the Asian Games when he lost to the South Korean hosts Choe, had called for fair judging in his finals showdown with Singapore?s Mohamed Hanurdeen Hamid following his South Korean heartbreak.
Bautista got the nod of three of the five judges whose scorecards were picked at random by a computer and reflected the overall fairness in the judging.
Hamid who suffered a painful cut below his left eye in an accidental clash of heads in the semi finals against Maung Nge was no real match for a ferocious 20 year old Bautista who had eliminated Thailand?s 2013 gold medal winner Chatchai Butdee in the quarter finals.
Butdee won gold at the SEA Games in 2013 while Bautista captured the gold medal at the ASBC Youth Championships that same year.
Bautista was coming off a smashing 2nd round knockout of Thon Seu Aphom at 1:13 of the round in the semi finals.
The winning ways continued when supremely talented bantamweight Mario Fernandez hammered Thailand?s rugged Tanes Ongjunta into submission when the referee stopped the bout after Fernandez dropped the game Thai with devastating left hooks twice. The fight was waved off by the referee going into 45 seconds of the third round.
Fernandez had served notice of his intentions with a 1st round TKO victory with just two-tenths of a second left in the opening round of his semi final clash with Naing Latt of Myanmar.
29 year old lightweight Junel Cantacio had to slug it out with 26 year old Van Hai Nguyen of Vietnam before a split decision earned him a coveted gold medal in a fight Cantancio deserved to win.
Then came the classic finale to the Philippines quest for gold and glory when welterweight Marcial, the devastating 19 year old hitman ripped into Singapore?s Jia Wei Tay who was simply outclassed by the power-punching Marcial who had earlier beaten Thailand?s Apichet Saensit 2-1 in the semis.
It was Marcial?s first SEA Games stint and a boost to his confidence as he eyes a slot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
In a post-fight interview Marcial conceded that if he hopefully maintains his discipline and works hard he can qualify for next year?s Olympics but realized that ?it will be difficult because I have to go through many steps to qualify.?
While the Philippines won five gold medals in Singapore, duplicating its gold medal haul in Vientiane, Laos in 2009,Thailand who had won seven gold medals in 2013 and are the perennial bitter rivals of the Philippines won only two which included women?s featherweight champion Tassamalee Thongjan and men?s light welterweight kingWuttichai Masuk.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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