Only one of the three of the five University of Baguio boxers who made their debut Sunday night in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Sunday, September 24, moved to the round of 16.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Eumir Marcial scored a dominant unanimous decision over Monglian Dalai Ganzorig in men’s 80 kilogram decision at the Hangzhou Gymnasium.
The professional (4-0 win-loss card) earned identical 30-26 scores from the five judges as he reached the next round together with another Filipino, Mark Ashley Fajardo.
Fajardo hardly broke a sweat as he scored a first-round knockout of Bhutan’s Dorji Wangdi in their round of 32 bout in the men’s 63.5kg class.
All it needed was less than 20 seconds for Fajardo to secure the win, when he floored Wangdi with a vicious left hook, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
But Irish Magno, another Tokyo Olympian, fell to Uzbekistan’s Nigina Ukmatova via unanimous decision in their round of 16 clash in the women’s 54kg.
Magno, who was trailing from the first round, was unable to close the gap as Ukmatova pulled off a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 victory.
Also getting the boot is compatriot Aira Villegas, who lost by points against Mongolia’s Yesugen Oyuntsetseg in the women’s 50kg round of 32.
Villegas impressed only one judge, with the other three scoring it for Oyuntsetseg and the fourth deciding it a tie.
Marcial is set to face on September 29 Nguyen Manh Cuong, who he knocked out to retain his middleweight crown in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila.
Fajardo battles China’s Wang Xiangyang in the round of 16 on Wednesday, September 27.
Other boxing bets Olympics silver medalists Nesthy Petecio (women’s 57kg) and Carlo Paalam (men’s 57kg), who are also from UB will see action in the next days along with John Marvin (men’s 92kg), Aaron Jude Bado (men’s 51kg) and Marjon Pianar (men’s 71kg).
The finalists – and semifinalists in some weight categories – in the Asian Games boxing competitions is a direct qualification to the Paris Games next year. Pigeon Lobien