Tañamor, Tipon reach Asian boxing final

Harry Tañamor and Joan Tipon claimed seats in the finals with towering wins over tough opponents in the Asian Boxing Championships Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Tañamor showed his dominance over Thailand’s Suban Pannon, 30-24, scoring with clear, solid punches from tip-off to finish to advance to the finals of the l48 kg division where he meets Athens Olympics bronze medal winner Hong Moo Woon of Korea.

Tipon crushed Kazakhstan’s Rahhymadyannov, 26-13, in the 54 kg category and claimed the second finals berth and at least a silver for the Philippines. He goes for the gold against Busan Asian Games silver medalist Baktuu of Mongolia.

Tipon rallied from a one-point (3-4) deficit in the first round to draw level in the second (8-8), then masterfully countered the scientific boxing Kazakh to gain the upper hand for good in the third.

Tipon connected with effective 1-2 combinations in the fourth round, landing a hard blow that gave the Kazak a mandatory eight-count.

The two wins atoned for the loss of Mark Jason Melligen in the 64 kg division to Ali Ashgar Shaf of Pakistan by disqualification.

Melligen was disqualified by a Kazakh referee for hitting below the belt. Filipino officials said the over-eager referee was so excited to impress Pakistan, where International Boxing Association (AIBA) president Anwar Chowdry comes from, that he immediately disqualified the Filipino without any caution or warning. Melligen settled for the bronze.

The Filipinos’ participation is being sponsored by the FG Foundation, Ginebra San Miguel, Philippine Sports Commission, Pacific Heights and Accel.