Tañamor outslugs Thai, reaches semis

Harry Tañamor moved a step closer towards a successful comeback Saturday night when he outboxed Muanton Budee of Thailand Team B to save the day for Team Philippines in the 26th King’s Cup International Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

The crafty Tañamor, scoring in clusters of three to four punches at a time, hammered out a 30-15 victory over the Thai to barge into the light flyweight division semifinals and earn for the six-man squad its first automatic bronze medal.

Tañamor’s win, which set him for a Last 4 meeting with Arnod Pangleelad of Thailand Team A, came before lightweight Anthony Marcial and middleweight Francis Joven absorbed stinging losses that dampened the Filipinos’ brief celebration.

Marcial, a newcomer in international competitions, bowed to veteran Chung Chun An of Taiwan, 11-26, while Joven dropped a 9-23 decision to Armpon Heangom of Thailand Team B in their quarterfinals bouts.

"Harry is slowly regaining his form. This victory gave him back the confidence he exuded in his earlier international campaigns. He is peaking in time and we hope he keeps his focus till the end of this tournament," said Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Manny Lopez, also the Federation of Asian Amateur Boxing secretary-general.

Tañamor, in his usual way, carried the fight to the Thai , dictating the tempo of the fight until the final bell of the four-round bout. Scoring almost at will, Tañamor got his share of hits from the counterpunching Thai but most of these came in the final round when the outcome was already beyond recall.

"Maganda ang ipinakikita ni Harry. Parang gaya na siya ng dati na habang tumatagal ang laban, lalong lumalakas. Medyo sumobra nga lang ang kumpiyansa noong fourth round at nakipagsabayan nang husto kaya tinamaan na rin," said coach Leopoldo Cantancio.

"Yung laban niya sa Lunes ang talagang magiging basehan ng kaniyang comeback. Pag nalusutan niya ang kalaban, talagang hinog na uli siya at puwede na uling pakawalan sa SEA Games," said assistant coach Elmer Pamisa.

Tañamor goes for a finals berth and an automatic silver medal on Monday.

The Filipinos, sent to Thailand by the First Gentleman Foundation and San Miguel Corporation with support from Pacific Heights as part of the ABAP build-up for the Manila Southeast Asian Games, continue their quest for medals on Sunday when flyweight Violito Payla and light welterweight Florencio Ferrer see action in the quarterfinals against tough rivals.

Payla tangles with World Cup champion Somjit Jongjohor of Thailand while Ferrer battles powerful Oleg Issarov of Russia.