Barriga, Suarez not turning back on Team Phl

MANILA, Philippines - By opting to compete in the AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) tournament instead of the SEA Games, boxers Mark Anthony Barriga and Charly Suarez are not totally turning their backs on the national team.

The executive director of the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) made this clarification yesterday to defend the boxers who are considered potential gold winners in the SEA Games in June.

“They are not turning their backs on their responsibilities because the APB is an AIBA event and they’re representing the Philippines here,” said Ed Picson.

“Besides, the APB event serves as qualifier to the 2016 Rio Olympics,” he added of the inaugural APB tournament that offers purses to the boxers and the national federations they represent.

The APB is different from the World Boxing Series where Suarez had previously competed and won for the Italia Boxing Club in 2013.

The chef-de-mission of the Philippine delegation to the SEA Games, Julian Camacho, is asking ABAP to write a formal letter regarding the matter.

“They need to inform us formally if Barriga and Suarez are not joining the SEA Games. It’s a pity because they are gold medal potentials,” he said.

Camacho said if there’s no conflict of schedule between the SEA Games and the APB tournament he would rather see Barriga and Suarez in the team to Singapore.

Barriga and Suarez are both gold medalists in the SEA Games and brought home the bronze and silver medals from the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

Picson said boxers in the APB event will not lose the chance to represent their respective federations in international events like the Asian Games, World Championships and the Olympics.

But the ABAP executive is in the process of clarifying with AIBA if it covers the SEA Games.

The APB event is professional in nature. For its inaugural season, the AIBA chose 80 boxers from different countries, and they compete in a longer format covering six rounds of three minutes each.