Suarez, Fernandez kick off boxing quest

INCHEON, South Korea – The Philippine boxing team starts its campaign today in the 17th Asian Games, hoping surpass its one gold, one silver, one bronze medal performance in the 2010 edition of the Games in Guangzho, China.

Charly Suarez takes on Uzbekistan’s Elnur Abdurimov in a lightweight clash at 7 p.m. while Mario Fernandez slugs it out with Thailand’s Doncha Thathi in a bantamweight duel at 2 p.m.

Suarez, in his second Asiad, is taking on a newcomer, 20-year-old Abdurimov.

Fernandez, on the other hand, will have to be cautious against the Thai, whom he beat for the gold medal in the Myanmar Southeast Asian Games last December.

On Thursday, London 2012 Olympics veteran Mark Anthony Barriga makes his Asian Games debut against Syria’s Hussin Al-Marin in the light flyweight division while flyweight Ian Clark Bautista takes on Jordan’s Cuban-trained top bet Abdallah Maher Mohammad Shamon.

Light welterweight Dennis Galvan seeks revenge against Kazakhstan’s Battarsukh Chinzorig, who beat the Filipino in the President’s Cup in Almaty last July.

The fight is also set tomorrow with middleweight Wilfredo Lopez also taking on Turkmenistan’s Azizbek Achilov.

The country’s bets in the women’s division – Josie Gabuco and Nesthy Petecio – get to fight only on Saturday.

Former world champion Gabuco will collide with Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu Ting while Petecio squares off with Kazakhstan’s Gulzhaina Ubbinizayova.

“It’s not a shabby draw,” men’s team head coach Nolito Boy Velasco said in Tagalog. “As I have said, our boxers are not focusing on the draw. They’re prepared to take on anybody here.”

“The draw is also fair to all. It was done manually, no machine intervention like in other previous draws,” he added.

The Philippines is hoping to surpass the 1-1-1 medals Rey Saludar, Annie Albania and Victor Saludar clinched in boxing in 2010 in Guangzhou.