Tanamor raps Canadian, enters semis

BELFAST, Ireland – Harry Tanamor barged into the semifinals of the lightflyweight division in smashing fashion, stopping Sebastian Gauthier of Canada in the third round and assuring the Philippines of a bronze medal in the World Amateur Boxing Championships here at the Odyssey Arena Thursday.

Left to carry the cudgels for an embattled Philippine team after three of his teammates fell by the wayside against world class opponents, the 19-year-old Tanamor stood his ground and battered Gauthier with a combination of punches that netted him a Referee Stopped Contest victory.

The win came a day after he scored an equally-impressive RSC-O victory over South Korean Lee Kyung Yeh and it lined up the new prized find from Zamboanga against Velicu Marian of Romania for a crack at the gold in this tough tournament that has attracted the best fighters in the world.

The other semis encounter in the lightest category pits American Ronald Siler against Cuban Yan Barteleny.

So impressive was Tanamor’s victory that he was the only one among the quarterfinalists in his division to have scored an RSC win. Marian eked out a 22-20 victory over Ireland’s John Paul Kinsella, while Barteleny beat Sergeui Kazanov of Russia, 20-17, and Siler came away with a 26-16 win over Indian Ali Qamar.

The Philippines is eyeing its first-ever gold medal in this biennial tournament which is second only to the Olympics in terms of participation and prestige.

Roel Velasco won a silver medal in 1997 in Budapest, Hungary for the Philippines’ best finish here.