Six pugs vie in Russian int’l slugfest

MANILA, Philippines - World Youth champion Eumir Felix Marcial heads the six-man Philippine team set to slug it out with top European fighters in the Konstantin Korotkov Memorial International Boxing tournament set May 14-20 in Khabarovsk, Russia.

Marcial, set to see action in the 64kg division, will be joined in the team by Rogen Ladon (49kg), Ian Clark Bautista (52kg), Mario Fernandez (56kg), Junel Cantancio (60kg) and Wilfredo Lopez (69kg).

The event serves as part of the Filipino fighters’ buildup for the SEA Games in Myanmar later this year.

“Looking ahead to the Myanmar Southeast Asian Games, this tournament is an integral part of our PLDT-ABAP boxers’ overall preparation for the biennial meet,” said ABAP president Ricky Vargas, also the head of Maynilad Water.

The team will be led by national coaches Nolito Velasco and Elmer Pamisa and ABAP executive director and team manager Ed Picson.

The six boxers, with six others, are currently in Cebu where they will undergo extensive training until May 9. The six others are London Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga, World Junior bronze medalist Jade Bornea, Nico Magliquian, Dennis Galvan, Asian Games gold medalist Rey Saludar, and James Palicte.

“We’ve put together a more elaborate training program for our boxers,” said Picson. “In the Cebu camp, we will find out who among them can rise to the challenge.”

ABAP has lined up a series of tough international tournaments for the national team mainstays, including the China Open for men and women in Guiyang (June 16-24), the ASBC Boxing Championship for elite men in Amman, Jordan (June 30-July 9), the third International Boxing Women’s Tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan (Aug. 6-12), the Taipei City boxing tournament (Aug. 14-21), the AIBA Junior World in Kiev, Ukraine (Aug. 17-26), the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan (Oct. 4-20), and the Tammer Cup for elite men in Tampere, Finland (Nov. 21-24).