The loss set the tone for what Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Manny Lopez declared as a "Black Saturday for boxing" as bantamweight Ferdie Gamo and lightweight Genebert Basadre suffered the same fate, their opponents getting unsolicited help from a "malfunctioning" scoring program acquired from Thailand.
Gamo lost to Serikbaye of Kazakhstan, 23-27, while Basadre lost to Pichai Sayate of Thailand, 25-30.
But what made the losses a bitter pill to swallow was the discovery made by the AIBA president, Prof. Anwar Chowdhry, later in the night during the middleweight bout between Pakistan’s Hamed Ali Khan and Sonchai Chemlong of Thailand.
The Pakistani was leading, 17-12, with only five seconds to go and when Chowdhry looked at the scoring monitor, the score suddenly became even at 17-17.
This prompted Chowdhry, a Pakistani, to rise up and question the Thai technician operating the computer program. The technician, however, claimed that the program, the same one used by the Vietnam Organizing Committee for the boxing event of last year’s Southeast Asian Games, and was set up at the venue as early as last Tuesday, was malfunctioning.
This prompted the Chinese Organizing Committee to dump the program and request that the Philippine program used in the January Asian Boxing Championships, the program the Chinese officials initially wanted to use but was turned down by the AIBA technical delegate Yoo Jae Joon of South Korea, who insisted on using the Thai program.
"That was what I was insisting on since we arrived last Thursday -ˆ that the program we designed and which was used in the 22nd Asian Boxing Championships in Palawan last January be used," Lopez, also the Federation of Asian Amateur Boxing (FAAB) secretary-general and a member of the jury here, bared. "I really didn‚t understand why Yoo insisted on using the Thai program. Now we know why."
After a lengthy meeting by the organizing committee with Chowdhry in attendance, the technician was sent packing home and three of the four South Korean referee/judges were barred from officiating starting Sunday.
The three losses left only featherweight Roel Laguna to carry the fight for the RP team which is participating here under the aegis of Alaxan FR, Pacific Heights, Accel, Family Rubbing Alcohol and the Philippine Sports Commission.
Laguna fights Akbar of Iran late Sunday night.
"This is a Black Saturday for boxing. And all I can say is that our boys did their best in the close contests. Unlucky for them, and the nations outside the circle of the Koreans, the computer was programmed not to favor them," Lopez lamented.
"Sabi ko na nga ba at sira yung computer eh. Takang-taka ako na binibigyan naman ng score si Harry (Tanamor) pero hindi nagre-register sa monitor," RP head coach George Caliwan bared. "Iyan din ang programa na ginamit sa Vietnam SEA Games. Pero talagang dikit and laban ni Harry at noong Koreano. Ang hindi lamang namin maintindihan ay kung ano nga ang nangyari sa computer."
Caliwan’s sentiment was echoed by the officials of the other delegations who pointed out that "the computers seemed to favor only the boxers from Thailand, South Korea and the hosts."
At the end of the day, all the Chinese and Korean boxers who saw action, as well as two of the three Thais advanced to the next round.
Three Filipinos — flyweight Violito Payla, light welterweight Romeo Brin and middleweight Christopher Camat — have already qualified for the Athens Games after they reached the finals of the Asian Boxing Championships with Payla and Brin taking the gold medals and Camat settling for the silver.