Fernandez whips foe in world tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Bantamweight Mario Fernandez dominated a tall Imran Khan of Guyana and came away with a unanimous decision to advance into the next round of the AIBA World Boxing Championships at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Sports in Almaty, Kazakhstan yesterday.

Fernandez used his quickness and footwork to steer clear of Khan’s long reach and then delivered a 3-4 punch combinations to startle the two-time Guyanese national champion. 

Two judges, from Lithuania and Morocco, gave the 20-year-old native of Valencia, Bukidnon all three rounds with a score of 30-27 while the Greek judge had it, 30-26, also for the Filipino.

Fernandez’s victory thus made it three of four for Team PLDT-ABAP with Roldan Boncales and Mark Anthony Barriga also posting impressive victories over their respective rivals from Guatemala and Vietnam, respectively.

Only Dennis Galvan failed to get past the first round, bowing to tournament No. 10 Gaybatullla Gadzhialiyev of Azerbaijan.

Boncales sees action again Friday, taking on North Korea’s Ri Chung Il, who recently won gold in the tough Korotkov Memorial Tournament in Khabarovsk, Russia.

Barriga, on the other hand, resumes his bid Saturday against No. 5 seed Yovani Vieira Soto of Cuba, also a London Olympian.

The blue-ribbon event drew a total of 457 boxers from 100 countries with Team PLDT-ABAP’s campaign backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.