Ladon, Laurente suffer early exits in Olympic boxing qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines – Rogen Ladon and Criztian Pitt Laurente met the same fate in their respective bids to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Ladon and Laurente bowed out of contention early in the second World Qualification Tournament for the Paris Games as they both dropped their opening bouts in Bangkok, Thailand, over the weekend.

A former Olympian who represented the country in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, Ladon suffered a 4-1 split decision loss to Spain’s Rafael Lozano Serrano in the round of 64 of the men’s 51kg on Saturday, May 25.

“I’m sorry, that was all I could manage,” said Ladon in Filipino.

Staying at a lighter weight class, with teammate Carlo Paalam competing in the heavier 57kg division, took its toll on Ladon, according to Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines secretary general Marcus Jarwin Manalo.

Ladon also bowed out in the first World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy, in March as the Bago City pride got the boot in the last 16.

“The effects of weight reduction was evident this time. He wanted to move up in weight class before the qualifiers, but Carlo also moved up and they would end up in the same weight class,” said Manalo.

“But Rogen has given every ounce of his energy to represent us at this stage and we thank him for that.”

Meanwhile, Laurente absorbed a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Mukhammedsabyr Bazarbay Uulu in the round of 64 of the men’s 63.5kg on Sunday, May 26.

Unbeaten in 12 fights as a professional, the General Santos City native fell prey to the highly favored Kazakh, who is a former Asian youth champion.

With Ladon and Laurente shown the door, only Paalam and Hergie Bacyadan are in the running in Bangkok with hopes of joining fellow Filipino boxers Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, and Aira Villegas in Paris.

Bacyadan begins her campaign in the women’s 75kg on Monday as she battles Spain’s Dunia Martinez in the round of 32.

On Tuesday, Paalam – who opened the tournament with a unanimous decision win – resumes his quest for a return trip to the Olympics when he locks horns with Turkmenistan’s Shukur Ovezov in the round of 32. – Rappler.com