By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense boxer Roger Ladon has announced his retirement from amateur boxing following his failure to earn a qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines secretary-general Marcus Manalo said the Negros Occidental’s Bago City-native fighter has opted to focus on coaching.

“We gave him another shot [then], kumbaga last hurrah niya,” Manalo said in an interview with Spin website.

“Ako kasi tingin ko kaya niya pa,” he added.

Ladon fell short of earning a Paris Summer Games qualification after bowing to Rafael Lozano Serrano, 4-1, in the 2nd World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ladon had previously competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the men’s flyweight class.

The Negrense capped his amateur boxing career with two gold medals and a silver in the Southeast Asian Games, a silver each in the Asian Games and Asian Championships, and a bronze medal in the AIBA World Championships./ASC, WDJ