World Junior Slugfest: Plania whips Georgian; Daming falls

MANILA, Philippines - Michael Angelo Plania pulled off a surprise win over Georgia’s Joto Taboshvili but Jayson Daming dropped a tight contest to Korean Kim Bi at the start of the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Kiev, Ukraine last Sunday.

Plania used his quickness and ring savvy to startle the taller Taboshvili and score a unanimous decision win for Team PLDT-ABAP in the bantamweight division of the event which drew 351 fighters from 56 nations.

But Daming failed to match Plania’s hot start, falling short against Kim in their pinweight clash.

Daming actually started strong and took the first round but failed to sustain his pace and lost in the second round. He gamely tried to get back in the third but fell short to yield the match.

Plania, meanwhile, went inside the defense of Taboshvili who tried to counter but instead fell victim to the General Santos native’s quick jabs and overhand shots. Several times, the Georgian, despite the cheers of the crowd in this former USSR state, buckled under the young Filipino’s unrelenting attack.

The tournament, held every two years since 2001, features boxers aged 15-16 years old. It was formerly known as the AIBA Cadet World Championships. There are 13 weight categories ranging from 46 Kg (101 lbs) to 80+Kg (over 176 lbs.).

 Cebu’s Hipolito Banal Jr., younger brother of pro boxer AJ Banal, sees action against Eljan Gafarli of Azerbaijan in their 48kg light flyweight match Tuesday.

The fourth boxer in the team, Paul Gilbert Galagnao of Cagayan de Oro, steps into the ring Wednesday against Hungarian Istvan Szaka.

ABAP president Ricky Vargas said the four boxers are new discoveries from the PLDT-ABAP national championships last February in Maasin City.

“These are neophyte boxers from our grassroots development program. While they’re there for exposure and experience against the world’s best young boxers, remember that we plucked a young man from obscurity two years ago in Kazakhstan and he became world champion. That was Eumir Felix Marcial. You can never tell,” said Vargas.