I AM NERVOUSE.
I am sitting on pins and needles. I have butterflies in my stomach.
No, not because I do not believe in Mark Anthony Barriga?s ability to win today.
In fact, I am oozing with confidence he will defeat Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan in their lightflyweight bout (46-49kg) set at 8:45 tonight.
Even if Barriga stands only 5-feet-flat, I feel he can beat the 5-feet-6 Zhakypov. Barriga seems destined on defeating taller opponents.
In his first fight, Barriga easily downed Manuel Cappai of Italy, 17-7, winning all three rounds with the ease of a spider building its web of a house.
In his first fight, Zhakypov won a shaky 18-17 score against France?s Jeremy Beccu, all because Beccu bowed to what some believed was ?bruised officiating.?
Barriga, 19, was all power, speed and a swift counter-puncher against Cappai. He did that almost non-stop for the entire nine-minute fight, turning from piston to whirlpool at every opportunity.
In contrast, Zhakypov clearly lacked the elements of a clear winner, struggling most of the way against Beccu to immediately put a cloud of doubt to his unstable one-point victory.
That?s the part that?s making me nervous, which is to mean–to be direct to the point–the area of judging a fight.
Remember, in the absence of a knockout, the fight is decided by the judges? scores. In Olympic boxing (pros like Manny Pacquiao are banned here), a knockout is as rare as a storm in Singapore.
For an Olympic boxer to earn a point, a scoring punch is recorded each time three of the five judges at least would press a button simultaneously to acknowledge that punch.
Already, the judges are facing a protest from Thailand, claiming Thai Ardee Sailom lost to Kazakh Gamno Zhailov due to ?dubious officiating.?
?I said before coming here that judging was still a big problem and Sailom?s controversial one-point loss proves my remarks were right,? Thong said, adding two members of boxing?s executive committee are Kazakhs.
Beccu was up by one with a round left. He lost to Zhakypov by one after the fight.
I am nervous.
I need a drink, puleeez?
