Six to vie for Olympic boxing slots

MANILA, Philippines - Six Filipino fighters will be sent to battle for Olympic tickets at the AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe) World Championships on Sept. 22-Oct. 10 in Baku, Azerbaijan where the top 10 finishers in eight categories and the top six in the heavyweight and superheavyweight divisions earn trips to London.

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) executive director Ed Picson said yesterday tryouts are now being supervised by head coach Pat Gaspi. Several tournaments are being lined up to test the contenders with Russia, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Indonesia among the countries hosting competitions where the ABAP will send participants.

Picson said he submitted a list of 21 fighters as the ABAP candidates for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games this November to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose Cojuangco, Jr. last March 2. He noted that the fighters to be sent to Baku will likely come from the 21-man roster.

The 21 fighters are Victor Saludar, Mark Anthony Barriga, Ian Clark Bautista and Crisanto Godaren for lightflyweight (49 kilograms), Rey Saludar, Gerson Nietes, Bonifacio Fernando and Engelbert Moralde for flyweight (52), Ricky Dulay, Joan Tipon and Mario Fernandez for bantamweight (56), Charly Suarez, Joegin Ladon, Junel Cantancio and Orlando Tacuyan for lightweight (60), Delfin Boholst, Dennis Galvan, Rolando Tacuyan and Nathaniel Montealto for lightwelterweight (64) and Wilfredo Gomez and Mico Brina for welterweight (69).

Of the 21 candidates, 12 are in Class A of the national pool – Barriga, the Saludar brothers, Nietes, Suarez, Ladon, Lopez, Boholst, Moralde, Cantancio, Orlando Tacuyan and Galva. In Class B are Bautista, Brina, Montealto, Godaren, Rolando Tacuyan, Fernando, Fernandez and Dulay. Tipon was a late addition to the list and is not in the national pool.

There are 36 fighters in the men’s pool. Aside from the 21, the others are Rogen Ladon, Joel Bacho, Jack Tepora and Nico Magliquian in Class B and Rence Magarce, Harmonito de la Torre, Eumir Marcial, Jason Neri, Darwin Tindahan, Sonny Katiandagho, Jason Borleo, Wennie Verano, John Vincent Moralde, Freddie Besande, Edillo Abrea and Neil Tabanao in Class C.

Regarding Fil-Am welterweight prospect Julian Santos-Chua, Picson said countries are allowed to send in only one entry per weight category in Baku. “Even assuming Julian is able to obtain a Philippine passport, it’s unfair to ask those training with our coaching staff to give way,” said Picson. “At the moment, we’ve got two candidates in Julian’s category – Lopez and Brina. Boholst is now in the lightwelterweight list but may move up to welterweight. Brina is from San Francisco and paid his own way to Manila to train with us and he’s progressing.”

Chua, 19, moved from Indiana to Los Angeles to train at the Wild Card Gym last year. His mother Dr. Ronette Santos-Chua said he is determined to qualify for the Olympics. She told Picson that her son will be in Manila in August or September to train with the pool. But it may be too late for Chua.

Besides, Picson said it’s doubtful if Chua will be issued a Philippine passport since his parents were already US citizens when he was born. It’s unlike Brina’s situation as he was born here.

Fighters are eager to join the Olympics because of ABAP chairman Manny V. Pangilinan’s reward of P12 million for a gold medal. Pangilinan has also offered P3 million for a gold medal in the Asian Games and P300,000 for a gold medal in the SEA Games.

In the Olympics, there will be only 10 weight divisions in men’s boxing – lightflyweight (46-49), flyweight (52), bantamweight (56), lightweight (60), lightwelterweight (64), welterweight (69), middleweight (75), lightheavyweight (81), heavyweight (91) and superheavyweight (+91). Additionally, there will be three weight categories in women’s boxing which is making its debut in the Olympics – flyweight (48-51), lightwelterweight (57-60) and lightheavyweight (69-75). In all, 13 gold medals will be at stake in boxing in London.

In the coming SEA Games, 14 gold medals in boxing are up for grabs, eight for men and six for women. The eight men’s divisions are lightflyweight, flyweight, bantamweight, lightweight, lightwelterweight, welterweight, middleweight and lightheavyweight while the six women’s classes are pinweight (46), lightflyweight (48), flyweight (51), bantamweight (54), featherweight (57) and lightweight (60).

Picson said the goal is to qualify as many fighters as possible in Baku. Those who don’t make it will get a second chance to earn tickets in an Asian continental qualifier in Kazakhstan next year but only the top two in each division will go to London. Eight wildcards will be allocated by AIBA, the International Olympic Committee and the London Organizing Committee.

The estimate is 245 will slug it out for 10 Olympic gold medals in men’s boxing – 92 from the World Championships, 140 from the continental qualifiers, five champions from the World Series of Boxing and eight wildcards. For the World Championships, the AIBA expects over 600 contenders to show up in Baku.