Ladon reaches semis; Marcial bows out

MANILA, Philippines - Rogen Ladon moved one win closer to a slot in the 2016 Rio Olympics when he outfought David Jagodzinski of Poland in the quarterfinals of the AIBA Boxing Championships Saturday evening in Doha, Qatar.

The southpaw from Bago City in Negros Occidental was in control of the fight from start to finish, and was amply rewarded by the judges from Argentina, Puerto Rico and Russia. He won all rounds on all three scorecards.

Ladon is now in the semifinals of the light-flyweight class, needing only one win, against Vasilii Egorov of Russia. In the 49 kg division, both finalists will earn tickets to the Rio Olympics.

Welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial, on the other hand, went the other way after another bitter loss to top-seeded Daniyar Yeluessinov of Kazakhstan, 3-0.

It was a a heartbreaking loss for the 19-year-old Marcial who gave his best but again fell short against the world No. 1, who inflicted the Filipino a similar defeat in the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok last month.

A victory over the Kazakh would have bolstered Marcial’s bid to make it to the Olympics five years after winning the gold in the World Junior Championships.

Now, focus falls on the 21-year-old Ladon.

“It’s always been my dream to compete in the Olympics. I’m doing my best every time I step into the ring. I hope to make it to the Olympics,” said Ladon.

Egorov is a year older than Ladon, and has more experience. He is the reigning champion in the EUBC European Confederation Championships and is a veteran of the World Series of Boxing.

Ed Picson, executive director of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines, is confident that Ladon can get past the Russian.

Ladon is oozing with confidence following his stunning win over the top-seeded Joselito Velazquez of Mexico in the second round of the preliminaries.

“There’s only one way to win this fight. Rogen must be the aggressor inside the ring. That’s what he’s done here and in the Asian Championships,” said Picson.

Ladon and Marcial made it to the World Championships by reaching the finals of their respective divisions in the Asian Championships.

Marcial fought hard against Yeleussinov in Bangkok last month and did the same Saturday evening in Doha. But the veteran of the 2012 London Olympics always knew how to stay away from trouble.

The hard-hitting Marcial, who can knock an opponent out with one punch, gave his best and ended up on the losing end.

Marcial will have a couple more chances to make it to the Olympics during the Asia-Oceania and World Olympic qualifying events in March and June next year.