By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Negrenses Flint Jara, Ian Clark Bautista and Risa Pasuit will anchor the Philippine boxing contingent in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games set from December 9 to 20 in Bangkok, Thailand, as the Philippines fields a mix of veterans, rising contenders and professional standouts.
Jara (54 kilograms) and Bautista (57 kg) are among the men’s division mainstays expected to deliver medals, while Pasuit (57 kg) leads a strong women’s lineup bolstered by Olympians and former SEA Games champions.
Their inclusion was confirmed as Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino formally announced the full national boxing team for the regional meet.
“We would like to thank Mr. Sean Gibbons and their managers for lending them to the national team,” Tolentino said as he confirmed the addition of professionals Eumir Felix Marcial and Weljon Mindoro.
“It gives us the opportunity for a podium finish in boxing but, of course, we want the gold. This is for the country,” he added.
Marcial, a four-time SEA Games gold medalist, will compete in the men’s 80-kg class, while the undefeated Mindoro (15-0-1 with 15 knockouts) will debut in the 75-kg division.
“I am very happy to compete in the SEA Games. It is very hard to turn your back to the national team. The country has given me a lot of opportunities,” Marcial said.
“I am ready also to fight for my fifth gold medal in the SEA Games,” he added.
Marcial enters the Games fresh from a majority decision win over Eddy Colmenares on October 28 in Thrilla in Manila 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, keeping his perfect professional record intact.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines Secretary-General Marcus Jarwin Manalo said the men’s team will compete only in seven of nine weight classes, skipping the 63.5-kg and 69-kg categories where medal prospects are low.
The men’s roster consists of Jay Bryan Barquarto (48 kg), Marvin Tabamo (51 kg), Jara (54 kg), Bautista (57 kg), and Junmilardo Ogayre (60 kg), with Mindoro (75 kg) and Marcial (80 kg) completing the delegation.
On the women’s side, the Philippines will join six of eight divisions, led by Pasuit (57 kg), Ofelia Magno (48 kg), Olympic bronze medalist Aira Villegas (50 kg), Tokyo silver medalist Nesthy Petecio (60 kg), and Paris Olympian Hergie Bacyadan (70 kg).
“So far, no boxers were displaced because Carlo Paalam, our Tokyo silver medalist, just decided to beg off and give his spot to Bautista because he got flu and did not train for weeks,” Manalo said.
Except for Marcial and Mindoro, the national team is currently in a two-week training camp in Muak Lek, Thailand, in preparation for the SEA Games./ASC, WDJ