Ladon, Bautista batter foes to enter gold medal round in Thailand boxing tiff

MANILA, Philippines – Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Rogen Ladon and bronze medal winner Ian Clark Bautista overwhelmed their respective foes to barge into the gold medal round of the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament at the Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort Hotel Friday.

Ladon overwhelmed hometown bet Thanarat Saengphet, 4-1, to advance to the flyweight finals while Bautista needed a powerful right hook to hack out a second-round knockout win over Vietnamese Nguyen Van Duong to surge through the featherweight finale.

The pair of smashing triumphs set Ladon up against reigning Asian Championship and Asian Games titlist Amit Panghal of India, a 5-0 winner over Than Van Tho of Vietnam, and Bautista versus 2021 World Championship silver medalist Serik Termizhanov of Kazakhstan, who edged Rujakran Juntrong of Thailand, 3-2, in the finals.

“I just did what my coaches told me to do, which is to go inside-out and be resourceful so we can get the win,” said Ladon, who was guided by coaches Don Abnett, Roel Velasco and Ronald Chavez.

The 2016 Rio Olympian’s aggressiveness in the third round spelled the difference.

“I went toe to toe with him (Saengphet) in the third round because I knew I can handle him,” he said.

Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ed Picson was impressed with the Filipino boxers' strong showing in this tournament organized by the Thailand Boxing Association headed by its president and concurrent Asian Boxing Confederation president Pichai Chunhavajira.

"Rogen showed his experience and that carried him to victory. As far as Ian Clark, that's the kind of boxing that Ian enjoys — toe-to-toe, exchanging punches. With Ian's punches, that (knockout) was bound to happen," said Picson, who was accompanied by his secretary-general Marcus Manalo.

"The coaches are working on their finals matches. They know who we're up against and we'll be prepared," he added.

In women’s action, flyweight Aira Villegas, lightweight Riza Pasuit and middleweight Hergie Bacyadan were also gunning for finals berths as they were battling separate rivals at press time.

Picson said they will go into a training camp in Thailand after this competition as part of national pugs’ preparation for the Hanoi SEA Games set May 12 to 23.