Feeling that he’s stronger than Salminov, whom he beat by RSC (Referee-Stopped Contest) in the Acropolis Cup in Greece last year, Tañamor chose to engage the Bulgarian in toe-to-toe exchanges in the first two rounds.
It proved to be Tañamor’s undoing as Salminov, even with no clear hits, piled up points and went on to tally a 15-12 victory that set the tone for the Bulgarians’ romp in the 11-nation tournament.
All seven Bulgarian finalists prevailed to the dismay of the non-European participants, who felt the judges were intimidated by the presence of Bulgarian Jet Chev, head of the Amateur International Boxing Association’s referees/judges commission.
"Nasasangga ko naman pero pumupuntos pa rin," said Tañamor. "Hinahabol ko na noong last round pero di mahuli."
The six-man RP Revicon team thus wound up with one silver and two bronzes, courtesy of Warlito Parreñas in the 51-kg class and Jenebert Basadre in the 57-kg category, to land seventh overall.
France was a distant second to Bulgaria with two golds and two silvers, followed by Spain and Scotland with one gold and one silver each. South Korea, which sent an 11-man team, finished with three silvers to finish ahead of Mexico with two silvers.
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Manny Lopez said the boys’ performance showed there’s still a lot of room for improvement going to the World Championship in July in Bangkok. Lopez ordered coach Pat Gaspi and assistant coach Alex Arroyo to resume the boys’ training as soon as they return to Manila.
Also with RP Revicon are Arlan Lerio (54 kg), Esmael Bacongon (60kg), Florencio Ferrer (64 kg) and international referee/judge Mar de Guia.
The Filipinos, supported by Pacific Heights, the Philippine Sports Commission and Accel, are scheduled to leave here Tuesday en route to Athens for the Acropolis Cup.