TOKYO—Carlo Paalam advanced to the men’s flyweight quarterfinals of boxing almost effortless, booking a lopsided 5-0 unanimous decision victory over Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi on Saturday at the Kokugikan Arena.
But the 23-year-old Paalam will be having his fists full in his next fight on Tuesday when he squares off with a formidable foe.
Paalam takes a shot at a bronze medal against flyweight top seed and Rio de Janeiro 2016 gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan. He defeated Daniel David Varela de Pina Cape Verde also 5-0 to follow Paalam in the quarterfinals.
Paalam, the pride of Carmen in Cagayan de Oro City and a discovery fro the Palarang Pambansa, battles a 28-year-old Zoirov, 28, also the 2019 world champion in Yekaterinburg in Russia.
But Don Abnett, the national team’s Australian training director, sees Zoirov as beatable.
“We’re confident, we watched Zoirov just outside the dressing room on our way out and we saw some holes in his style which Carlo could exploit,” Abnett said.
Paalam had a good workout against Flissi, who wanted to turn the fight into a slugging contest.
But Abnett and men’s head coach Ronald Chavez, a veteran of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, told Paalam not to play his rival’s game.
“The Algerian has a habit of hitting with his palms so we instructed Carlo to play decoy—fake him to a slugging contest but pull out quick then make the punch,” Chavez said.
The plan worked and Paalam scored with his right straights to the head, including one with 2:10 left in the third round that buckled Flissi’s knees.
“I am very happy with this win, I thank everyone who’re praying for me and supporting me,” Paalam said.
“Carlo is a smart fighter. He knows he needs to take it a step at a time. He has a big fight coming up against the Rio gold medalist,” said Ricky Vargas, president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines. “He needs that to ensure a podium finish. I know he will give it his all. May God look kindly upon him.”
Image courtesy of Frank Franklin II