ASBC Asian boxing championships: Suarez, Fernandez bow out

BANGKOK – Filipino bantamweight Mario Fernandez inflicted the heavier damage inside the ring Sunday but took a painful defeat against his top-seeded rival and bowed out of the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships.

Kairat Yeraliyev of Kazakhstan, who suffered cuts in both corners of his eyes, carved out a 3-0 victory to move on to the quarterfinals at the Thammasat University Gymnasium.

Fernandez landed a left hook in the first round, opening a cut on the Yeraliyev’s right eye. With 25 seconds left in the second round, an accidental clash of heads caused a cut on the latter’s left eyelid.

Blood trickled down Yeraliyev’s face in the third round. Yet he managed to pull it off. All three judges gave the World Series of Boxing competitor the first and third rounds.

“Tumatama talaga yung mga hook ko (My hooks were landing). Pero maganda din ang straight niya (But he had a good straight),” said Fernandez, 3-0 winner over an Iranian last Thursday.

Moments after, he apologized to his coaches – Pat Gaspi, Nolito Velasco and Reynaldo Galido – and ABAP executive director Ed Picson for the loss.

“Sorry sir,” said Fernandez, his left hand wrapped in ice.

“It was close, and when it’s close, it can go either way,” said Picson.

Late Saturday evening, the Philippine team fully backed by telecommunications giant PLDT suffered a 2-1 loss on skipper Charly Suarez in the lightweight division.

Suarez, the seasoned boxer, lost to another Kazakhstan boxer, Zakir Safiullin, and bowed out of the hunt for slots to the AIBA World Championships in Doha, Qatar on Oct. 5 to 15.

Light-fly Rogen Ladon and welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial were tapped for Sunday’s evening matches, each one hoping to make it to the quarterfinals.

Ladon, who drew a bye in the opening round, tests Rakhmankul Avatov of Kyrgyzstan while Marcial will be hard-pressed against second seed Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan.

Marcial, 19, a gold medalist in the 2011 World Junior Championships, will ride the momentum of his 3-0 win over Uulu Erkinbek Bolotbrk of Kyrgyzstan last Friday.

“Basta bigay-todo ako (I will do my best),” he vowed.

Flyweight Ian Clark Bautista, a bankable fighter from Negros Occidental, makes his debut Monday against Vietnam’s Throng Thai Bui, also eyeing the quarterfinals.

Precious slots to next year’s Rio Olympics will be disputed in Doha.

Suarez, the second seed, landed the clearer blows against Safiullin.

In the second round, Suarez caught his opponent with a left to the face, sending him down in front of the Kazakh corner. But the referee from Finland ruled it as a slip.

“I hurt him with that shot because he went down. He went straight into my punch. That’s why I ran to the neutral corner,” said Suarez in Filipino.

“I was surprised that the referee did not make the count,” he added.

Suarez did not get the nod of the referee, and Safiullin closed the round throwing punches and trying to look like he wasn’t hurt at all.