No time to rest: Ladon, Marcial settle for silver

BANGKOK – Rogen Ladon and Eumir Felix Marcial fell short of winning the gold in the ASBC Asian Championships but will not board the plane back to Manila Sunday afternoon empty-handed.

By reaching the medal rounds of the event that drew close to 200 boxers from 33 Asian nations, the young Filipino boxers qualified for the AIBA World Championships in Doha on Oct. 5 to 15.

Once they get home, Ladon, a 21-year-old light-flyweight from Bago City, and Marcial, a 19-year-old welterweight from Zamboanga, will have very little time to sit down and relax.

On Tuesday, they head back to their training quarters in Baguio City.

Ladon, near perfect in first three fights, lost to Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov, 2-0, while Marcial, after chalking up four wins, bowed to Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Yeleussinov, 3-0.

Dusmatov and Yeleussinov are the top seeds here.

But it’s Marcial’s opponent who carried the lofty billing from head to toe. He is the reigning Asian Games champion and veteran of the 2012 London Olympics. In 2013 and 2014, he was named AIBA Best Boxer, and in 2013 also won the gold in the World Championships.

“Idol ko ‘yan (He’s my idol),” said Marcial prior to the match.

Once inside the ring, however, the 5-foot-Marcial showed no respect for the Kazakh fighter. They exchanged solid blows early on, and when the bell rang ending the first round, the Filipino stared at his opponent.

“Sayang, sir (It’s a pity). Pero lumaban ako sa kanya ng sabayan (But I fought him toe to toe),” said Marcial.

Still, it was pretty clear who the better boxer was on this humid Saturday afternoon.

In the third round, Yeleussinov kept his distance from Marcial and cruised to victory. He won convincingly on points and gave Kazakhstan its second gold medal as of presstime.

“There was not a single bout where we lost badly. Everyone fought well but obviously some adjustments need to be made,” said Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines executive director Ed Picson.

“Ladon and Marcial both beat some big guns on the way to the finals. I can’t ask more from them,” Picson also said.

Dusmatov, who campaigns in the World Series of Boxing, beat Ladon to the draw right from the start, throwing left jabs and right hooks that often landed.

Ladon, with identical 3-0 wins over fighters from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia heading to the finals, came to fight but couldn’t get going. This time, he lost, 2-0.

Aware that he was behind on points, the Filipino tried to turn things around in the second round where the Uzbek was deducted a point for repeated ducking.

The point deduction only narrowed the gap.

Dusmatov, who lost to Filipino Mark Anthony Barriga in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, continued to win every exchange till the end.

Ladon did everything he could, landing some good shots of his own. However, the wear and tear on his body after three hard fights in only seven days started to show.

“He gave his all in his first three fights then faced a much quicker Uzbek in the finals. I think Ladon has over-achieved here and he deserves credit for that,” said Picson.

“Hindi ko nakikita yung hook niya (I couldn’t see his hooks). Mabilis (fast). Pero ilang beses din niya ako inulo (But he hit me with his head a few times),” said Ladon, his right eye swollen.

“Grabe ang sakit (It really hurt),” said the new pride of Bago City in Negros Occidental.

Two judges gave The Uzbek the fight, both 29-27, while the third one had it even, 28-28.

When the decision was announced, Ladon bowed his head, and his opponent flexed his biceps.

Filipino flyweight Ian Clark Bautista, who lost in the quarterfinals here, failed to secure a slot in the prestigious event in Doha because he did not land in the top six of his division at the close of the competition.

Ladon came here in place of Barriga, who is still recovering from a hand injury, and was quick to impress everybody, including his coaches.