Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president Manny Lopez said yesterday he’s aiming for at least six fighters to represent the country at the World Championships in Chicago on Oct. 18-Nov. 3.
Heading the cast is bantamweight Joan Tipon, the only Filipino fighter to win gold medals in the last Southeast Asian (SEA) and Asian Games.
The World Championships will be the first Olympic qualifier before AIBA (International Boxing Association) stages two more qualifying tournaments for the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia apiece and one for Oceania.
There will be 286 slots for boxing at the Beijing Olympics next year. The berths include two wildcard entries that will be designated by AIBA. Asia will be allocated six tickets in the lightflyweight, flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight divisions, five in the lightweight, lightwelterweight, welterweight, middleweight and lightheavyweight classes and two in the heavyweight and superheavyweight categories for a total of 53.
The eight quarterfinalists in each division except heavyweight and superheavyweight in the World Championships will automatically qualify for Beijing. Only the semifinalists in the heavyweight and superheavyweight classes will earn outright tickets. Whatever slots are vacant after the tournament will be filled via the continental qualifiers. Within the quota, China as host nation will be given six slots at random.
The first Asian qualifier is set in January in Bangkok and the second in April in Kazakhstan. Participation in Bangkok will be restricted to fighters not qualified from the World Championships and participation in Kazakhstan will be limited to those not qualified from Chicago and Bangkok.
Lopez said the signs point to the Philippines claiming a medal in boxing in Beijing.
“I’ve noticed if we do well in the Asian Games, we do well in the next Olympics,” said Lopez. “If the trend continues, we’ll be in line for a medal in Beijing.”
At the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, Roberto Jalnaiz captured a gold for the Philippines. Two years later, in Barcelona, lightflyweight Roel Velasco claimed a bronze at the Olympics. At the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, three Filipinos hit paydirt – Onyok Velasco, Elias Recaido and Reynaldo Galido. In 1996, Velasco took the silver at the Atlanta Olympics. No Filipino fighter won a gold in the next two Asian Games as Filipinos came home empty-handed from the Olympics in Sydney and Athens.
At the Doha Asian Games last year, two Filipino fighters struck gold – Tipon and flyweight Violito Payla. So, if the trend persists, a medal awaits the Philippines in Beijing next year.
Lopez said he is optimistic the Philippines will capture its first-ever Olympic gold medal in Beijing and it will come from boxing. Five wins will guarantee a gold in boxing. But first, there are the qualifiers to hurdle.
The Philippines sent four fighters to Sydney and Athens. Lopez said he hopes to qualify at least five for Beijing.
“It won’t be a piece of cake,” said Lopez. “We’re still waiting for a Cuban coach but if we can’t get a good one, we’ll go with our Filipino coaches. We’re fortunate that Mr. (Manny) Pangilinan is now supporting our boxing team. This will impact on our development program.
Lopez said Dr. Alcides Sagarra, the mastermind of Cuba’s ascendancy as a global power in amateur boxing and the Cuban national coach from 1960 to 2001, will be in Manila to share his expertise next month. It will be Sagarra’s second visit here since 2003. Cuba won gold in the lightflyweight, flyweight, bantamweight, lightweight and heavyweight divisions in the last Olympics.
Sagarra, 70, personally coached six Cuban fighters to 10 Olympic gold medals – Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon three each, Armando Martinez, Emilio Correa, Jorge Hernandez and Joel Casamayor. In all, Sagarra is credited for 27 Olympic medals in boxing.
Lopez said Taiwan’s Dr. Ching Kuo-Wu, who dislodged Pakistan’s Anwar Chowdry as AIBA president last year, has brought credibility back to amateur boxing.
With Dr. Wu at the helm, Lopez has been given a more prominent role as Federation of Asian Amateur Boxing secretary-general. He will be the head of the technical committee overseeing the World Cadet Championships for 15-17 year-olds in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Aug. 30-Sept. 9 and will likely be appointed as a jury member at the World Championships.
