Fighters ready, confident

INCHEON, Korea – Boxing, a perennial medal producer for the Philippines in various international competitions, is again expected to deliver with the coaching staff confident of the Filipino fighters’ chances against the best in the fold.

“We’re ready,” said head coach Nolito Velasco, brother of Olympic medalists Rhoel and Onyok.

“We have prepared long and hard for this. We started our training in January and we competed in various tournaments that’s why we don’t see any problem why we shouldn’t be able to contend for medals,” said Nolito in Pilipino.

He also expressed confidence that all his eight fighters will hurdle today’s weigh-in.

Aside from a 15-day training in Canberra, Australia, the Filipino boxers also took part in tournaments in Kazakhstan and in China.

Ian Bautista, a flyweight and gold medal winner in the 2013 Asian Youth Confederation Championships, won the gold in the 2014 China Open International Boxing Championships, while Charly Suarez and Rey Saludar won silver medals in Kazakhstan.