Baku, Azerbaijan – Come-backing Joan Tipon of Bacolod used his experience to repel a hard-hitting, counter-punching Alberto Melian of Argentina and complete a hat trick for the PLDT-ABAP National Boxing team in the AIBA World Boxing Championships here.
In the first two days, Mark Anthony Barriga and Rey Saludar also won their first assignments.
The tournament, which serves as the main qualifier for boxing in the 2012 London Olympics, drew 570 boxers from 130 countries. The Philippines has six entries. At least three wins assure a boxer of a slot in the Olympiad.
Tipon, who drew waves in 2006 when he won the gold medal in the Doha Asian Games, staged a comeback this year after being sidelined for more than a year due to an injured shoulder.
His first tournament after the long lay-off was a silver medal finish at the Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
However, he crashed out in the second round of the Asian Men’s Championship in Incheon, South Korea.
Showing a lot of grit after the score was tied at 6-6 in the second round (he had a slim 3-2 lead in the first), Tipon decided to trade blows with the Argentinian. He showed more heart and landed more accurate punches to earn the close decision and join Barriga and Saludar in the second round.
Misamis Oriental native Delfin Boholst, meanwhile, steps into the ring with Stephan Danyo of the Netherlands in a welterweight (69 kg) match.
Lightweight Charly Suarez and light welterweight Rolando Tacuyan round up the Filipino roster. Coaches are Pat Gaspi, Ronald Chavez and Roel Velasco.
The national boxing team’s trip here is funded by the Philippine Sports Commission and their private sponsor PLDT with support from Accel, Powerade, Adidas and Clusivol.