Barriga decisions Vietnamese in world tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Diminutive Mark Anthony Barriga stamped his class over a taller 2011 SEA Games silver medalist Ngoc Tan Huynh, fashioning out a unanimous decision to chalk up the PLDT-ABAP national team’s second win in three outings in the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan Wednesday.

Giving up at least three inches in height, Barriga sneaked in crisp counter punches and solid left straights against the charging Vietnamese. The 20-year-old Panabo native, a two-time gold medalist of the Sydney Jackson Tournament in Uzbekistan and veteran of the London Olympics, also used his vaunted speed and footwork to neutralize Ngoc’s reach advantage.

The Filipino fighter won, 30-27, on all three judges’ scorecards.

Barriga, however, faces a tougher rival in the next round, Yosvani Veitia Soto of Cuba, the No. 5 seed in the tournament that has drawn the best and upcoming fighters in the world.

The 21-year-old Cuban champion lost to China’s vaunted light flyweight Zuo Shiming in the London Olympics but many there thought he was robbed of victory. Soto is a seasoned internationalist, having been a World Series of Boxing (WSB) campaigner and has won tournaments in Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Mexico and others.

“That’s ok. We both trained hard and I’ve seen him fight. I’ll just prepare well for him. I’m also in good shape,” said Barriga in Filipino. 

Earlier, 2011 SEA Games gold medalist Dennis Galvan bowed to a quick-punching boxer from Azerbaijan, Gaybatulla Gadzhialiyev, Tuesday to crash out of the tournament.

Galvan, 21, tried to counter against Gadzhialiyev, who, however, proved too slick, hitting the Filipino with solid hooks and straights to score a unanimous decision in their three-round encounter.

Flyweight Roldan Boncales put Team ABAP-PLDT’s campaign in motion with a big victory over Guatemalan Olympian Eddie Barillas Monday.

Meanwhile, Bukidnon’s Mario Fernandez sees action in the 56 kg bantamweight class Thursday against Guyana’s two-time national champion Imran Khan.