Ladon, Villegas make Spain slugfest semis

MANILA, Philippines —   Filipino Olympian pug Rogen Ladon and Aira Villegas pulled off contrasting victories to assure themselves of at least a bronze medal in the Boxam Elite in La Nucia, Spain Tuesday.

Ladon, a 2016 Rio de Janerio Games veteran and World Championship bronze winner, edged Scott Richards of Wales, 3-2, while Villegas routed Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers, 5-0, to barge into the semis.

There, Ladon squares off with Mexican Ari Bonilla, a 4-1 winner over Hungarian Attila Bernath, while Villegas battles England’s Kelsey Oakley, who demolished Hungary’s Petra Mezei, 5-0.

Ladon is on the comeback trail after failing to make the cut for the 2021 Tokyo Games where Filipino boxers scooped up two silvers from Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio and a bronze from Eumir Marcial.

The wins by Ladon and Villegas cushioned the impact of the losses suffered by countrymen Riza Pasuit (women’s 60kg), Mark Ashley Fajardo (men’s 43lg) and Ronald Chavez, Jr. (-71kg).

Pasuit succumbed to Kazakhstan’s Aidana Zabynbekova, 4-1; Fajardo sputtered against England’s Cameron McKay, 3-2; and Chavez fell to Uzbekistan’s Asadullaev Khavasbek, 5-0.