Ladon, Maamo gain semis, world tilt slots

MANILA, Philippines -  Lightfly Rogen Ladon and flyweight Dannel Maamo scored emphatic victories over their respective rivals to barge into the semifinal round of the ASBC Asian Elite Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan Wednesday and clinch berths in the World Championships.

Ladon dominated Hussein Al Masri, who took a deduction for ducking in the first round and the 23-year-old Bago City native took the match in the next frame after the referee disqualified the Syrian fighter for the same infraction.

Maamo, on the other hand, continued to impress, disposing of his Sri Lankan rival via a 5-0 romp on identical 30-26 cards.

The twin wins thus assured Olympian Ladon and Maamo, 20, slots in the World Championships in Hamburg in August. The top six in each weight class gain berths in the elite tournament.

But middleweight Felix Marcial bowed to local bet Israil Madriimov in a fierce duel although the latter went on to gain a unanimous decision.

Despite the loss, the 21-year-old Marcial still has a chance for the world tilt although he must hurdle Abdul Mouen Aziz of Syria in a box-off on Saturday for a ticket to Hamburg.

“We can’t really ask for more from the boys. All our losses here were against top seeds – Mario Bautista vs the No. 3 in bantamweight, Joel Bacho against the No. 5 in welterweight, James Palicte versus the No. 2 in lightweight,” said ABAP sec-gen Ed Picson.

Ladon goes for a final seat in the 49kg class against Mongolian Gan-Erdene Gankhuyag while Maamo slugs it out with Inkyu Kim of Korea in the semis of the 52kg category.