Tañamor, Tipon go for broke

MILAN – Lightflyweight bet Harry Tañamor, drawing a first round bye, swings into action against European champion Hovhannes Danielyan of Armenia while bantamweight Joan Tipon takes on Algeria’s Abdelhalim Ouradi in shooting for his second win at the 15th AIBA World Boxing Championships at the Mediolanum Forum here today.

Tañamor, 31, has won three medals – a silver and two bronzes – in previous World Championships and said he’s going all-out to add a gold to his collection. But Danielyan won’t be easy pickings. The Armenian is seeded fifth behind Poland’s Lukasz Maszczyk, India’s Nanoa Singh Thokchom, Ireland’s Patrick Barnes and Brazil’s Paulo Carvaho in the 48-kilogram division. Tañamor was No. 18 in the latest AIBA world ratings.

Both Tañamor and Danielyan fought at the Beijing Olympics last year. The Filipino crashed out in the first round after losing a 6-3 decision to Ghana’s Manyo Plange. Danielyan was eliminated by Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov, 13-7, in the quarterfinals.

Tañamor, who is campaigning in his fifth World Championships, said he will rely on his experience against Danielyan.

“I haven’t seen Danielyan fight, not even in the Olympics,” said Tañamor. “We both drew byes so this is our first fight in Milan. I know I’m a little rusty because I haven’t fought in a tournament since winning the World Cup in Russia last year. This competition is tougher than the Olympics because there are so many entries and they’re the best in their countries. But I’m hoping my experience will get me through.”

If Tañamor defeats Danielyan, he will face the winner of the fight between South Africa’s Lebogang Pilane and Papua New Guinea’s Lui Magaiva in a second round bout on Monday.

Tañamor said despite his age, he’s far from finished as an amateur fighter. He’s looking forward to the Southeast Asian Games in Laos late this year and the Asian Games in Guangzhou next year. But his ultimate goal is to make it to the 2012 London Olympics.

“I’ll still be eligible to fight in London,” said Tañamor who will be 34, the Olympic age limit for boxing, in 2012. “I’ll see how I do in the Asian Games before deciding if I’ll try to qualify for the Olympics.” Tañamor has represented the country at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics.

National coach Pat Gaspi said Tañamor can’t take Danielyan lightly. “We haven’t seen him fight but he has the credentials,” said Gaspi. “He’s the European champion and he’s seeded fifth while Harry isn’t even seeded.”

Gaspi brought Tañamor to the practice facility of the Mediolanum Forum the other day and supervised a gruelling one-hour workout.

“I wanted Harry to get a feel of the ring,” said Gaspi. “We did punch-mitts. He looked sharp. I expect he will do a lot of adjusting at the start but his defense, footwork and experience will carry him. Danielyan is not an easy opponent but Harry is one of the world’s best.” – Joaquin Henson