Barriga resumes Phl quest; judoka falls

LONDON – Mark Anthony Barriga sets out for a quarterfinal berth against Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov today in a match that means so much for a beleaguered Team Philippines in the Olympic Games here.

With judoka Tomohiko Hoshina joining the fallen Filipino athletes on the sidelines after losing his round of 32 match (+100kg) to Kim Sung-Min of Korea via Ippon, Barriga hopes to get past Zhakypov in their lightflyweight match and stay in the medal hunt.

The diminutive Filipino fighter said he’s more than ready for the fight set at 1:45 p.m. (8:45 p.m. Manila time) and could take a quarter-pounder for snack and still make the 49-kg limit.               

“Forty-eight kilos lang ako sir. Kaya pwedeng kumain ng marami (I just weigh 48kgs so I can eat as much as I want),” said Barriga, helping himself with a plateful of rice, noodles and two slices of bread as he took his breakfast at the huge dining hall together with coach Roel Velasco and boxing official Ed Picson on the eve of his second bout.

The 19-year-old Barriga, one of only two athletes in the 11-member Team Phl given a chance to win a medal together with BMX rider Danny Caluag, climbs the ring for the second time in five days against Zhakypov with the winner making it to the quarterfinals.   

‘’Pakiramdam ko mas maganda ang kundisyon ko ngayon keysa noong lumaban ako kay Cappai. Mas maganda ang pakiramdam ko (I feel I’m in better condition that when I fought Cappai. I feel great) ’’ said Barriga, shortly before Panamanian boxing coach Jose Lara approached the team.

“You (Barriga) are quick and talented. You can beat him,” said Lara, a one-time Olympian, adding he was not impressed with the way Zhakypov handled his opening round bout on Tuesday. “He was lucky he hit a couple of good punches in the closing minute.”

According to Velasco, Zhakypov is reportedly having trouble making the 49-kilogram limit, something that resulted to his lackadaisical showing against Frenchman Jeremy Beccu, whom he barely nipped, 18-17.

On the other hand, Barriga posted a convincing 17-7 victory over Cappai before a huge crowd that included mother Merlita and father Ed.

On a cold but sunny Thursday morning inside the Athletes Village, Barriga trained for almost an hour in a routine that included four 50-meter sprint runs and abdominal exercises, which the coach and the boxer would replicate in the afternoon.

Unless the Kazakh comes up with a new game plan once the bell rings, the strategy for Barriga remains the same.

“I will ask him to go for the body, where Europeans are known to be weak,” said Velasco, a bronze medalist in the same division during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and anolder brother of Atlanta Games silver winner Onyok.

After their 45-minute workout in the afternoon, Velasco and Barriga watched the video of Zhakypov’s fight against Beccu, studied their game-plan again, took their dinner together before calling it a day.

Barriga, whose grandfather on both sides fought in the pro ranks with limited success, will be giving away six inches in height when he mixes it up with Zhakypov, 28.

But that’s no longer a major concern for the team since the 5-foot Barriga proved he could handle rivals much taller than him when he cut the 5-foot-6 Cappai down to size on Tuesday.

Barriga’s parents have reset their trip back home just to see their son fight again, and lead the cheering along with lot of countrymen who exploded in delight once the referee raised the Filipino fighter’s right hand as victor over the Italian.

Also in town to provide moral support are boxing president Ricky Vargas and his lieutenant, Pato Gregorio.

In what could be the most-awaited fight in the program, defending champion Zou Shiming, who drew an opening day bye, takes on Cuban Yosbany Veitia Soto, who debuted with a masterful 24-6 annihilation of Australian Billy Ward on Tuesday.