Tañamor dumps Pole, enters World Cup final

Harry Tañamor used his longer reach and fine defensive tactics to outclass Lukasz Masczczyk of Poland, 12-4, and barge into the finals of the light flyweight division in the AIBA World Cup at the Ice Palace Megasport in Moscow, Russia Saturday.

Tañamor, trying to atone for his forgettable ouster in the first round of the recent Olympic Games, stamped his class in the early goings of the four-round bout, piling up three points midway through before coasting to the victory.

But the Filipino veteran campaigner will have his hands full when he faces Cuban Yampier Hernandez Gonzales for the gold medal.

The Cuban fighter, 30, a bronze medalist in the Beijing Olympics, demolished Birhan Zakhypov of Kazakhstan, 13-3, in the other semifinal bout of the 48-kg division.

“This will be a good and exciting bout for the finals as both boxers have been slugging it out in their training in Cuba for the Beijing Olympics,” said outgoing boxing president Manny Lopez.

The 31-year-old Tañamor, a silver medalist in last year’s World Championships in Chicago, swarmed all over his Polish rival from the opening bell, using his longer reach to score the hits and then eluding Lukasz’s counterpunches with sleek defensive moves.

After surging ahead by three points at the end of the second round, Tañamor pressed his attack in the third and fourth rounds while dancing away to cruise to the victory.

Tañamor, a staff sergeant in the Philippine Army, is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and Pacific Heights.

He is already assured of a $5,000 purse although the Filipino bet will go all out to redeem himself from the Olympiad debacle and win the gold medal worth $10,000.

On his way to the finals, Tañamor disposed of Murodion Rasulov of Tajikistan, 8-4, while Gonzales defeated Belik Galanov of the host country in the quarterfinal round.

The invitational event gathered the top 88 fighters in the world in 10 weight categories as determined by the AIBA, the world governing body in the sport.