Payla, Brin in semis; Tañamor loses

PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan — Team Philippines’ Violito Payla smashed I Hyon Kim of North Korea to barge into the semifinals last night but SEA Games gold medalist Harry Tañamor rammed into a talented Chinese fighter and lost in the 22nd Asian Boxing Championship at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum here.

Spiking his quickness with a barrage of solid combinations, Payla, 25, overpowered Kim and ran away with a 30-16 victory in their flyweight clash to zero in on one of the berths to this year’s Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

"Hindi ako masyadong napagod," said the Armyman from Cagayan de Oro City, one of the bright prospects for the host team in this event serving as the first of three Olympic qualifiers.

But Payla will have to unleash more punching power against Tulash Boy Doniyorov of Uzbekistan, who bested Zou Gang of China, in the other flyweight contest.

But the joy brought about by Payla’s impressive victory simmered down just as quickly when Tañamor bowed to Zou Shiming, 13-16, in their lightflyweight clash.

Also failing on their bids were Junar Ladon and Florencio Ferrer with the former losing to power-punching Galib Ozhafazov of Kazakhstan in their bantamweight encounter, 11-32, and the latter to Pakistan’s Asyhal Ali Shah, 17-28, in the lightweight division.

Late in the night, welterweight Francis Joven joined his fallen teammates with a one-point setback to Ba Shavnof of Afghanistan.

Ozhafazov proved too strong for Ladon from the opening bell to the end of the four-round contest with the Filipino bet managing to sting the Kazakh occasionally but failing to shake him to the disappointment of a huge hometown crowd

"Nanggigil siguro ako dahil gusto ko talagang makabawi dahil nung tinalo niya ako noon batang-bata pa talaga ako," said a dejected Ladon, referring to his previous loss to Ozhafazov in the King’s Cup in Thailand three years ago.

Still, Ladon, who defeated Salon Kasanov of Tajikistan, 20-15, late Wednesday, has two chances to realize a stint in the Olympics — in the second Asian qualifier in China in March and in Pakistan in April.

It was actually the comebacking Romeo Brin who reached the semis first.

Brin, who stunned 2003 Hanoi Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Manus Boonjumnong Monday, pulled off another shocker by besting Sydney Olympian Nursa Kazymzahnov by points, 28-18, late Wednesday.

The victory thus sent the 30-year-old Brin, a veteran of the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics, closer to a dream campaign in the Olympic Games.