PHNOM PENH—Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam and Paul Julyfer Bascon aim for semifinal berths in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games boxing competitions Monday at the Chroy Changvar Center Hall G in Cambodia.
The Cagayan de Oro fighter Paalam takes on Malaysian Daeloniel McDelon in a bantamweight fight while the 26-year-old Panabo Davao del Norte Bascon will squares off with Vietnamese Thanh Dat Vu in a light welterweight encounter.
Paalam said he is now comfortable fighting as a bantamweight since winning the Asian Boxing Confederation Men’s Elite Boxing Championships gold medal last year in Jordan.
“I’m now comfortable at bantamweight but there’s no trouble returning to flyweight,” said Paalam, who won silver at the Tokyo Summer Games as a flyweight. “Anyway, it’s still a long way to go to win the gold. I will do my best to win against the Malaysian.”
Paalam eliminated Cambodia’s Sao Rangsey via a unanimous 5-0 decision win marked by three knockdowns in the third round in his first fight Saturday.
Bascon fights Vietnamese Thanh Dat Vu hoping to follow up on his 5-0 victory over Myanmar’s Aung Soe Moe also on Saturday.
“My next opponent for sure will be tougher because Thailand is a boxing country,” he said. “That’s why I need to be consistent and be aggressive.”
Olympian Irish Magno, meanwhile, assured herself a bronze medal after a 5-0 shutout of Nan A Mwe Hom of Myanmar in their women’s bantamweight battle.
Rogen Ladon and Ian Clark Bautista were also assured of bronze medals following victories on Sunday while James Palicte crashed out of contention.
Two-time reigning champion Ladon overcame pesky Indonesian Ingatan Ilahi, 5-0, to advance to the flyweight semifinals against Malaysian Muhammad Abdul Qaiyum Ariffin.
Bautista, a two-time SEA Games gold medalist, beat Van Duong Nguyen of Vietnam via referee stopped contest due to injury (left eyebrow cut) in their featherweight duel. He faces Asri Udin of Indonesia in the semifinals.
Palicte lost to Van Ratha of Cambodia via split decision in a light welterweight duel.