World elite boxing championship: Boncales overcomes ex-Olympian

MANILA, Philippines - GenSan’s Roldan Boncales, a substitue fighter for the injured Asian Games gold medalist Rey Saludar, took the spotlight for Team PLDT-ABAP when he stunned Beijing Olympian Eddie Barillas of Guatemala in the opener of the AIBA World Elite Men’s Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan Monday.

Boncales used his quickness and ring savvy to surprise Barillas and parry his veteran rival’s attack then went on to post the upset via unanimous decision in their flyweight showdown at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Sports.

“He tried to use one-upmanship but I just played my game,” said the 20-year-old Boncales, who joined the PLDT-ABAP team only last year. He earned all three judges (from Ukraine, Hungary and Finland) nod, 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.

In his first international stint in January this year, he captured the gold medal in the Kuala Lumpur City Day Cup where he was also adjudged the tournament’s “Boxer with Most Potential.”

He faces another tough opponent next – North Korea’s Ri Chung Il, who recently won the gold medal in the Korotkov Memorial Tournament in Khabarovsk, Russia.

Meanwhile, Dennis Galvan sets out Tuesday against No. 10 Gaybatullah Gadzhialiyev of Azerbaijan, a London Olympics veteran, in one of the light welterweight duels while London Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga slugs it out with 2011 SEA Games silver medalist N goc Huynh of Vietnam Wednesday in the 49kg light flyweight division.

Bukidnon’s Mario Fernandez goes up against Guyana’s national champion Imran Khan Thursday in the bantamweight clash of the event which drew 457 boxers from 100 countries.