Banal yields close bout to Azeri fighter

MANILA, Philippines - Hipolito Banal Jr. dropped a close decision to Eljan Gafarli of Azerbaijan and bowed out of the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Kiev, Ukraine last Monday.

Banal appeared to have delivered the clearer punches in several exchanges throughout their slambang encounter but the three judges gave the nod to Gafarli – all with identical scores of 29-28 in all three rounds.

The 10-point must system is now used in Olympic-style boxing, giving a mandated 10 points to the boxer whom a judge feels has won the round. 

National coach Ronald Chavez, who worked Banal’s corner with Juniors head coach Romeo Brin, was stunned by the decision, saying: “We were pretty sure we had won because Banal fought well and we even saw the Azeri coach shaking his head after the fight.”

Delegation head Ed Picson, however, reminded the team that the rules do not allow protests over the judges’s decision. Only actuation of the referee may be questioned, per AIBA rules.

The setback leaves opening day winner Mike Angelo Plania and Paul Gilbert Galagnao to carry the torch for Team PLDT-ABAP.

Plania,16, takes on Puerto Rico’s Henry Lebron Jr. Tuesday, while Galagnao, 15, steps into the ring for the first time against highly-touted Istvan Szaka of Hungary, also Tuesday.