For decades, boxing has been one of the country’s primary sources of medals in international sporting competitions, including the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the Asian Games, world championships, and the Olympics – to name a few.
Last Thursday, the Philippines secured two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals in the 29th SEA Games, which took place in Kuala Lumpur.
Eumir Marcial ruled the middleweight division by defeating Pathomsak Kuttiya of Thailand, while John Marvin Tupas only needed 21 seconds to win the light heavyweight division over Adli Hafidz Mohd Pauzi of Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Mario Fernandez took silver in his category; while Charly Suarez and Ian Clark Bautista, a Negrense, took bronze in their respective divisions.
Aside from winning gold, what made Tupas and Marcial special was the manner in which they won. Watching their fights, I saw the Velasco brothers, Roel and Mansueto, as well as Reynaldo Galido, Larry Semillano, and others who triumphed in the SEA Games using their iron fists.
Given these results, I anticipate our Filipino boxers will bring back the tradition of winning international competitions through knockouts.
After the SEA Games, the Alliance Boxing Association of the Philippines now prepares for the next event. Hopefully, Negrense fighters like Bautista, Rogen Ladon, and Junel Cantancio win more gold for the country in future tournaments./WDJ