Suarez, Marcial out of SEAG?
The Philippine boxing team will head to the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur in August with fewer athletes that can win the gold.
After Malaysian organizers scrapped women’s boxing in this year’s calendar, they’ve also decided to limit the number of divisions in the men’s class to six.
The executive director of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines yesterday said among those that were taken off the list are the lightweight and welterweight classes.
“We’ve always done well in these weight classes,” said Picson, who rued the non-inclusion of the two events by Malaysian organizers.
“Garapalan na (This is absurd),” said Picson.
Lightweight Charly Suarez and welterweight Felix Marcial are the ones affected by the latest decision to limit men’s boxing to the lightflyweight, flyweight, bantamweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions.
Suarez is a two-time gold medalist in the SEA Games (2009 and 2011) and was a qualifier to the 2016 Rio Olympics while Marcial is the reigning SEA Games champion at 69 kg. “Pareho tayong malakas sa divisions
na tinanggal (We are strong in both divisions that were removed),” said Picson.
The ABAP official said he tried to relay his disappointment to his Malaysian counterpart but it seems
there’s nothing that can be done. “Ang sabi lang niya sa akin ay ‘Buti
nga may boxing pa (What he told me was that it’s a good thing boxing was included),’” said Picson.
Malaysia is not looking at boxing as a source of medals when it hosts the 2017 SEA Games and hopes to improve on its fourth-place finish in Singapore in 2015.
The Malaysians failed to win a single medal in boxing in the last SEA Games while the Philippines nailed five gold medals (four in the men’s and one in the women’s divisions) on top of three silver and two bronze medals.
All 10 boxers fielded by the Philippines in Singapore brought home a medal for a 100 percent batting average.
“They’ve removed women’s boxing and now two divisions where our male boxers can win the gold,” said Picson.
The only way Suarez and Marcial could compete in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games offering 405 gold medals in 38 sports is for them to move up or down in weight.
But it’s easier said than done, according to Picson, because in the case of Marcial he may have to compete in the 75 kg class where boxers are way bigger than him.
“These are middleweight boxers who walk around at 80 kilos. Marcial walks around at 72 kilos. He will be too small for this class. It’s the same case with Charly who may be forced to compete at 64 kilos. Maliit siya dito,” said Picson.