Pinoy fighters cop 3 golds in Russia meet

Eumir Felix Marcial and Nesthy Petecio trounced their respective North Korean rivals while diminutive Carlo Paalam pulled off a big win over a South Korean foe as the Philippines racked up three gold medals in the Korotkov Memorial Boxing Championships in Khabarovsk, Russia Sunday.

Marcial, 22, unleashed his power in the middleweight division, knocking down a couple of rivals, including a local favorite, on his way to the finals. The 2011 Junior World champion and two-time SEA Games gold medalist then decisioned a North Korean foe in the finals.

Petecio, on the other hand, picked up her third gold medal for the year after previous victories in India and Poland, also edging a North Korean opponent in the championship of the event which drew 165 boxers from 26 countries, including China, North and South Korea, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Thailand and the host country.

She highlighted her feat by finally getting back at Chinese Jun Hua Yin, a Rio Olympics silver medalist, with a knockdown in their semifinal faceoff. Petecio has lost her four previous encounters with Jun.

Paalam, on the other hand, outwitted South Korean Shin Jong Hun in their light flyweight duel to deliver the third gold for Team ABAP (Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines), whose campaign was sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Shin, a gold medalist in the 2014 Asian Games, was given a standing 8-count in the second round.

“I am so, so very happy for our boxers. This is a good preparation for the Asian Games in August. Let’s get them more exposure,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas, also the head of the boxing association.

Lightweight James Palicte also won a silver while Aira Villegas from Leyte took a bronze in the women’s flyweight class. Palicte actually dropped his North Korean foe in the second round but the Negros Occidental native failed to sustain his charge, enabling his opponent to recover and bounce back the rest of the way.

Other members of Team Phl were Mario Fernandez and Joel Bacho, who both reached the quarterfinals, and Marvin Tabamo while the coaches were Ronald Chavez (men’s head coach), Boy Velasco (women’s head coach) and Elmer Pamisa.