Young brothers of RP fighters also rise

BACOLOD City – Kin of national team mainstays hogged the spotlight with the fancied bets from Mandaue City and Cebu City as action in the Smart National Amateur Boxing Championships heats up at the NOMPAC here Sunday night.

Conrado Tanamor, the 18-year-old brother of reigning World Cup gold medalist Harry, bested Jimboy Mayang of Bacolod B to barge into the quarterfinal round of the light flyweight class.

Himamaylan’s Fernando Tacuyan, younger brother of Orlando Jr., produced the most impressive win by knocking out Bacolod B’s Arnolfo Toralba in just 42 seconds to likewise advance to the quarterfinals in the school boys junior mosquito weight class.

Mandaue’s Gerald Suico and Lorenz Jay Romanete, two of the five fighters sent here by ALA Boxing’s Tony Aldeguer, and Cebu’s Andrino Pescante and Allan Refuela, fighting out of M. Lhuillier Development Foundation under Wakee Salud, also came up with impressive wins.

Suico trounced Iligan City’s Ken Capangpargan in the pinweight division for junior boys, Romanete whipped Silay City’s Neil Cordero and Pescante defeated Calinog’s Ronel Fuentes in pinweight for 17-18-year-old boys, and Refuela put away Bacolod C’s Jagon Juson in their bantamweight clash.

With Harry Tanamor cheering and egging him on, the long-limbed Conrado, already a member of the national training pool, showed a lot of promise in disposing of his rival for the win in the event serving as ABAP’s talent-search program.

“I expected to win but I think the toughest fights will come in the later rounds,” said Tanamor in Filipino.

It was the 13-year-old Tacuyan, however, who came through with probably the best showing in this weeklong event backed by Smart and organized by host Rep. Monico Puentevella and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Tacuyan, who used to be a sprinter but turned to boxing last year to follow in the footsteps of brothers RP standouts Orlando and Rolando, dazzled the crowd with his punching power to bundle out his foe in style.

“I gave up running so that I could be in the national team like my brothers,” said Tacuyan, referring to the 20-year-old Orlando who is competing here and the 17-year-old Rolando who saw action in the just-concluded RP-Guam boxing duel in Guam.

In other result, Bacolod A’s Gerson Nietes stopped Bukidnon’s Mario Fernandez via RSC-O (referee stopped contest-outclassed) win.

Tagbiliran lived up to its billing as one of the Visayan powers as Jefferson Rodriguez and Emmanuel Lumantad (pin- weight) and Wilbert Loberanis (flyweight) outclassed their respective rivals to advance.

Rodriguez beat Pacman GenSan’s Arjay Encarnado, Lumantad defeated Iloilo’s Anthony Garcino and Loberanis booted out Silay City’s Danny Lozanes.

Other winners in the Tanamor’s weight class were Northern Samar Neil Bryan Unay, Cadiz City’s Arman Altar, Dumaguete’s Julius Eugenio, Pacman Sarangani’s Arcel Ramagasa, Datu Puti, Zamboanga’s Angelo Marcial and Puerto Pricesa’s Bonifacio Fernando.