MANILA, Philippines - Mike Plania and Paul Galagnao dropped their respective bouts, ending Team PLDT-ABAP’s campaign in the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships at the Kiev Sports Palace in Kiev, Ukraine last Tuesday.
Plania, 16, tried to neutralize Puerto Rican Henry Lebron Jr.’s height and reach advantage with some quick in-and-out moves. But the lanky Latino, touted as the best Puerto Rican in the fold, came to the fight well prepared, meeting the Gensan lad’s incursions with well-placed hooks and uppercuts.
Plania fought back in the second round but Lebron made some adjustments in the third to take the decision and win their bantamweight clash.
The 15-year-old Galagnao, on the other hand, faced a tough opponent in Hungary’s Istvan Szaka, who pounded out a unanimous decision win in their light bantamweight (52 kgs) match.
Despite the setbacks, ABAP executive director Ed Picson said the Filipino fighters got the exposure and gained experience although they would have preferred a different outcome.
“It would have been nice if we had a better draw so they could have fought more,†said Picson. “Still, we’ve gotten a lot of offers for sparring. We’re taking on all comers so they will get those fights. The fact that we were sought out by other teams says something about our boxers.â€
The other members of the developmental PLDT-ABAP team who also dropped their respective bouts were Cebu’s Hipolito Banal Jr. and Jayson Daming also from CDO.