Ladon, Marcial eye finals in Bangkok

BANGKOK – While their teammates were out on a city-wide tour provided by organizers, Rogen Ladon and Eumir Felix Marcial trained Thursday and geared up for the battles up ahead.

There was no time to rest for the 40 boxers who are still in contention here, including the two Filipinos.

Ladon, the light-flyweight, and Marcial, the welterweight, see action in Friday’s semis of the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships at the Thammasat University Gymnasium.

By getting this far, the two Filipino boxers have assured themselves of slots in the AIBA World Championships in Doha, Qatar on Oct. 5-15.

The coming tournament serves as qualifier to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

But for Ladon and Marcial, 19 and 21 years old, that’s getting ahead of the story. They will face separate opponents Friday, both seeking finals berths.

Over breakfast of milk and cereals and lots of fruits, Ladon and Marcial were shown a text message from the president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines.

“Mabuhay! All the way!” said the sender, ABAP chief Ricky Vargas, who was in Los Angeles.

“Hindi pa tapos ang laban (The fight is not over yet),” said Ladon, winner of two fights here and scheduled to face Mongolia’s Gan-Erdene Gankhuyag in the semis.

The other semis pairing in the 49 kg class is between top seed Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan and Devendro Laishram of India.

Ladon said he’s ready for anybody that comes his way.

Over the past few days, Ladon, who hails from Bago City, has taken sneak peeks at his Mongolian opponent, and thinks he’s ready for the fight.

““Ready na po (I’m ready). Isa lang ang dapat gawin – maging aggressive (There’s only one thing to do – be aggressive),” said Ladon, impressive in his wins over boxers from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The Tajik fighter whom he defeated in the quarterfinals, Murodjon Rasulov, was the second seed in this tournament for 33 Asian nations.

Marcial, on the other hand, seeks a fourth straight win when he tackles Suzuki Yasuhiro of Japan, following victories over entries from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and host Thailand.

He has made heads turn here but admitted Thursday the best has yet to come.

“Hindi pa ito ang laro ko (I’m not in my best form yet). Kaya ko yan (I can handle him),” said Marcial, wearing lumps and bruises on his face.

“Every fight may bagong bukol (lump),” said the boxer who loves to smile.

“So far, so good. We have two boxers in the semis,” said ABAP executive director Ed Picson, adding that while Ladon and Marcial are already assured of slots to Doha, one more is knocking on the door.

Flyweight Ian Clark Bautista, who lost in the quarterfinals, can still make it to the World Championhips if he lands in the top six of his division.

Marcial defied the odds and the hometown crowd to win his battle against the 29-year-old Thai.

The native of Zamboanga rocked Saylom with his left straights in the opening round, and built his confidence in the second. He won both rounds.

In the third, the Thai waged an all-out assault, hoping to turn things around. A clash of heads left Marcial dazed and swelling over his right eye.

“Beterano talaga. Magulang. Sobrang wais (He’s a veteran – witty and wise). Nahilo talaga ako sa (I was dazed) sa third round. Halos hindi ko na siya makita (I could barely see him),” said Marcial.

“Wala pa ako sa boxing lumalaban na yan. (I wasn’t into boxing yet and he was already fighting). Pero buhay pa tayo (I’m still in the running),” he added.

“Buhay pa tayo. Humihinga pa (We’re still alive and breathing),” said Marcial.