LADON AND MARCIAL STUN THEIR FANCIED OPPONENTS WHILE BAUTISTA ALSO WINS TO ENTER ASIAN BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER FINALS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 31 Aug 2015
Marcial.
Light flyweight Rogen Landon and welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial stunned their heavily fancied opponents to enter the quarter finals of the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships on a surprising Sunday at the Thammasat University Stadium in Bangkok although bantamweight Mario Fernandez lost a heartbreaker to his top-seeded Kazakhstan opponent.
Fernandez gave his all against Kazakhstan?s AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medalist Kayrat Yeraliyev, the No.1 seed who, according to the AIBA report ?opened his tournament with a close victory over Philippines? Incheon 2014 Asian Games bronze medalist Mario Fernandez.?
AIBA said ?The Kazakh boxer began their highly entertaining bout with more intent and pressure, as his Filipino rival tried to use his amazing footwork to keep the distance.?
It said Fernandez?s power punches looked impressive in round two, before Yeraliyev returned to his best form in the third frame as he sealed a hard fought triumph.
A report from Bangkok said Fernandez put up a decent fight and did well with his left hooks. But he couldn?t take full control of the fight, allowing Kairat Yeraliyev to run away with a unanimous 3-0 victory.
But Yeralivez, who defeated Fernandez in their first meeting in 2013, suffered cuts right and left, on the left eyebrow as a result of the Filipinos? left hook right in the first round while the second cut on Yeraliyev?s left eyelid was caused by an accidental head-butt in the closing seconds of the second round, and the ring physician had to check on him.
The southpaw from Kazakhstan won on the scorecards of all three judges.
In a post fight interview Fernandez said ?My hooks were landing but he had a good straight.?
Fernandez kept on apologizing to Filipino team officials after the loss, saying he felt he did enough to win the bout.
ABAP executive director Ed Picson said ?It was close and when it's close it can always go either way. It was the second straight day that the ABAP-PLDT Philippine team lost to Kazakhstan, following the stunning loss of lightweight Charly Suarez to Zakir Safiullin Saturday evening in what many considered a bad 2-1 decision in favor Safiullin on Saturday evening. With the twin defeats, Suarez and Fernandez are out of the hunt for slots to the AIBA World Championships in Doha, Qatar in October.
But Ladon and Marcial are still in the thick of the fight after the Filipino light flyweight stunned Kyrgyzstan?s Rakhmankul Avatov who had won three international tournaments this year in what AIBA reported was a surprising loss to the Southeast Asian Games silver medalist Ladon while hard-hitting welterweight Marcial also scored a stunning victory over No. 2 seed Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan.
Ladon, Marcial and flyweight Ian Clark Bautista are just one win away from qualifying for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar later this year.
Bautista entered the quarter finals with an impressive 3-0 win over Trong Thai Bui of Vietnam Monday at the Thammasat University Gymnasium in Bangkok.
All three judges from Latvia, Kazakhstan and Korea gave the fight to Bautista, a 20-year-old who won the gold medal in the last SEA Games in Singapore who went after his Vietanmese opponent from the opening bell. While it was a busy fight for both , the Filipino slugger, making his first appearance in this six-day-old tournament landed the cleaner and stronger punches.
In a post fight interview Bautista said ?I took the fight seriously and did not leave anything to chance. I did not want to take the risk.? The victories kept the Philippines in the hunt for slots to the AIBA World Championships in Doha, Qatar on Oct. 5 to 15, where berths to next year?s Rio Olympics will be disputed.
They also cushioned the impact of the heartbreaking defeats of bantamweight Mario Fernandez and lightweight Charly Suarez.
?While the immediate objective is to qualify to the World Championships, our boxers are motivated to go for the gold here,? fighters from Kazakhstan.
ABAP executive director Ed Picson said ?The boys were unlucky to run into some top seeds early but we are keeping the faith.? He added ?While the immediate objective is to qualify to the World Championships, our boxers are motivated to go for the gold here? while Association of Boxing Alliances of n the Philippines president Ricky Vargas who is at the Jones Cup in Taipei remained confident that the remaining Filipino bets in this tournament that drew around 200 of the finest amateur in Asia will make it until the end.
Only the top six boxers in the weight classes of Ladon, Bautista and Marcial will go to Doha. Making it to the semis, therefore, will give Filipino boxers sure tickets to the World Championships.
Ladon will return to action Tuesday against second seed Murdjon Rasulov of Tajikistan, a veteran of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon but whom the Filipino had never faced before. Marcial faces an equally difficult task Wednesday against local boy Saylom Ardee, who had lost twice to Suarez at 60 kg but is now campaigning at 69 kg. Bautista will next face either Elegedara Bulugaha of Sri Lanka or Azat Usenaliev of Kyrgyzstan, also on Wednesday.
Ladon jumped the gun on Avatov and proved to be the aggressor. He pressed his attack until the end and emerged as the clear winner.
The two boxers traded shots from at the center of the ring and got entangled numerous times, wrestling each other to the ground three times.
When the final bell sounded, the Filipino knew he had it, and the judges agreed, scoring it 30-27, 30-26, 29-28 for Ladon. The referee from Morocco gave Ladon a 10-8 card in the second round.
?Napansin ko na galing sa labas mga suntok niya at medyo mabagal. Kaya pinasok ko siya ng diretso. Lumusot ang mga suntok ko,? said Ladon.
Marcial, a southpaw like Ladon, engaged the No. 2 seed from Uzbekistan in a thrilling match, with both boxers exchanging heavy straights.
It was a close match with both fighters being deducted a point each in the third round for ducking. Marcial won on two cards, 28-27 and 29-26, while the other went to Madrinov, 28-27.
?Thailand ang sunod. Hindi tayo dapat maunahan dahil taga-dito siya. Dapat sabayan from start to finish,? said Marcial.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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