BARRIGA ADVANCES WITH SMASHING WIN IN OLYMPIC BOXING
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 31 Jul 2012
Mark Anthony Barriga scored a smashing win over Italy?s European qualifier Manuel Cappai in the opening round of light flyweight competition on Tuesday in a fight telecast ?live? by AKTV IBC 13.
The 18 year old Barriga overcame the four inch height advantage of the 19 year old Cappai with his speed and effective counter-punches that often rocked the head of his opponent right back.
Cappai who was described in pre-fight reports as an ?Italian rising star maturing fast at this level? had no answer for the skill of Barriga who was clearly the crowd favorite.
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Ricky Vargas who followed the action on television told the Manila Standard minutes after the fight despite his height disadvantage Barriga showed ?what a courageous heart can do.?
Vargas said people ?tend to underestimate Barriga but he is a very intelligent fighter. I am really happy for him and four our country.?
Barriga will clash with tough Kazakhstan fighter Birzhan Zhakypov who won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Amateur Championships and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he lost to top favorite and ghold medal winner Zou Shiming 4-9.
He was also beaten by the Chinese superstar in the finals of the 2010 Asian Games.
Barriga caught Cappai with two good lefts early in the opening round that surprised the Italian who was booed for his rough tactics against the little Filipino.
Barriga nailed Cappai with a perfect right counter that dropped Cappai but the referee ruled it a slip but made amends a short while later when he gave Cappai a standing eight count after Barriga tagged the Italian with a solid left that enabled him to take the round 5-2.
Barriga appeared a little more cautious in round two but his left kept finding its mark while occasional combinations rattled Cappai who had no answer to the ring savvy of the Filipino whose counter right proved to be a telling factor against Cappai who often switched to the southpaw stance with no success.
A frustrated Cappai hit Barriga at the back of the head and was cautioned by the referee while the crowd booed loudly.
Another solid right by Barriga enabled him to take the second round by a 4-2 margin that pushed his lead to a comfortable 9-4 going into the third and final round.
His confidence growing the lone Filipino entry in the Olympic boxing event started the final round with two good lefts followed by a right but was cautioned for hitting with the inside of the glove.
Barriga sneaked in a left against the bewildered Italian and then connected with a right to the side of the head that took the sting out of the European hopeful.
Rather than sit back and relax Barriga picked up the tempo and went after Cappai and caught him with a left-right combination but had to take a timeout to adjust his headgear.
Two rapid fire lefts by the Filipino saw Cappai holding but it didn?t bother Barriga who went on to score a big 17-7 win.
He raced to his corner and embraced a joyous coach and Barcelona Olympic bronze medalist Ruel Velasco.
Photo: The Philippines' Mark Anthony Barriga wins over Italy's Manuel Cappai in the opening round of the 2012 Olympics light flyweight match up. Reuters.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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