BOXING GETS OFF TO ROUSING START IN ASIAN GAMES
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 25 Sep 2014
Fernandez.
The Philippines got off to a rousing start in the Asian Games boxing competition in Incheon when bantamweight Mario Fernandez reasserted his superiority over Thailand?s Doncha Thathi in his opening bout of the preliminary round with a unanimous decision win.
Fernandez, a product of the grassroots development program of the ABAP under president Ricky Vargas had beaten Thathi to win the gold medal at the last Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar and proved he was the better boxer by winning on the scorecards of all three judges, yesterday.
Albino Foti of Italy and Jones Kennedy Silva Do Rosario of Brazil had Fernandez winning 29-28 with both judges giving the Thai the third round by a 10-9 margin but judge Hassan Zoubid scored it a 30-27 shutout for the Filipino who counter-punched effectively in the first two rounds and caught Thathi with some solid combinations.
The Thai southpaw tried to bully Fernandez into submission but the 21 year old Filipino who won a gold medal at the Lions Cup International Boxing Tournament in Sri Lanka earlier this year beating Yu Che Li of Chinese-Taipei, proved too smart for the onrushing Thathi.
Ranked No. 9 in the Asian Championships which was four rungs below the rating of Thathi who was No. 9, the 21 year old Fernandez will face Nepal?s Puran Rai in the next round after the solid punching Nepalese got the better of Saudi Arabia?s lanky Yahya Hassan Sharahili 3-0.
ABAP executive director Ed Picson told the Manila Srtandard/Viva Sports prior to the fight that Fernandez and multi-titled lightweight Charly Suarez who was to face Elnur Abdurimov in the evening session yesterday that Fernandez and Suarez had ?been doing well in training? and he was ?optimistic of their chances? of progressing to the next round.
The international amateur boxing organization had earlier said the Thai was "a fighter to watch" and was considered a dangerous opponent.
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