Comebacking Galido, pal drop bids in Istanbul slugfest

Team Philippines started on the wrong foot Saturday when two of its sevenman boxing squad absorbed sorry losses at the start of the Ahmet Comert International Boxing Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Comebacking Olympian Reynaldo Galido lost to Turkey‚s Adem by the skin of his teeth in the welterweight division, 17-18, while Warlito Parrenas absorbed a 27-22 decision from another Turk, Aydenir, in the flyweight class.

But while the loss of Parrenas was admitted by Filipino coaches Boy Velasco and Vicente Arcenal and team leader Liberato Reyna, the ouster of Galido, which elicited howls and jeers from the Turkish boxing fans, was a bitter pill to swallow.

Galido, who fought in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as a light welterweight, was in complete command of the four-round bout right from the opening bell, staggering his Turkish rival with solid body blows and crisp combinations to the face.

And while the Turk could only counterpunch at times, the judges still gave Galido’s foe the nod in the end.

"Ganyan talaga ang boxing. Akala natin panalo tayo pero ang tingin ng mga judges, talo," lamented Velasco, who was given a stern warning for his protests against the scoring of Galido’s fight.

The Filipinos‚ stand was echoed by the rest of the officials from 23 countries but could only shake their heads in disbelief after the scores were announced.

Team Philippines resumes its quest on Sunday when three other pugs bantamweight Joan Tipon, lightweight Genebert Basadre and light welterweight Mark Jason Melligen enter the ring.

Tipon takes on Turkey’s Ozgar, Basadre fights Malat of Hungary and Melligen tangles with Hammed of Israel.

The participation of the team in this tournament which attracted 181 men’s boxers and 127 women pugilists, made possible by Ginebra San Miguel, the First Gentleman Foundation and Pacific Heights. It is a part of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) eliminations for the composition of the RP team which will see action in the Manila Southeast Asian Games.