Fernandez doing OK after KO loss

JAKARTA – Mario Fernandez still dreams of boxing glory despite his nightmarish fall Saturday night here.

The morning after his shock knockout loss, Fernandez was up and about, ready to move on, saying there are still a lot of boxing competitions down the road for him.

“It’s boxing. It’s part of the game. There’s a lucky punch in boxing,” said Fernandez of what hit him in his initial outing in the 18th Asian Games boxing against Iraqi Jaafar Abdulridha Ali Sudani at the Jakarta International Expo Hall.

“The most important thing is I’m okay. I’m still ready to go. There’s the SEA Games next year. I will try to bounce back there,” added Fernandez, a two-time SEA Games champ and bronze medal winner in the Incheon Asiad in 2014.

The Valencia, Bukidnon native, considered among the best boxing bets here, looked well on the way to victory when felled by a haymaker by Sudani.

Fernandez went down on a crushing straight to the side of his face. He tried to get up but was visibly groggy and thus was waived off by the referee.

He was stretchered out of the ring and was brought to a medical center for observation.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Fernandez especially against a virtual unnamed rival from a nation that is really not into boxing.

He was ahead on the scorecards before the KO.

The boxing team was 0-of-5 in the first two days of competitions with Joel Bacho and Nesthy Petecio,  losing their opening bouts on Friday and James Palicte and Irish Magno late last night.

Palicte became the fourth first round casualty when he fell to Uzbekistan’s Abdurasulov, 5-0 (27-30, 27-30, 28-29, 28-29, 28-29) in the round of 16 of the men’s lightweight (60kg). A little later, Magno got knocked down in the first round before she fell to North Korean Pang Chol Mi, 5-0,  in the round of 16 of the women’s flyweight (51kg).

This leaves only flyweight Rogen Ladon, light flyweight Carlo Paalam, and middleweight Eumir Marcial Lopez in the eight-member national boxing team. – With Abac Cordero