Carlo Paalam restored order for the Philippine Centennial Team boxing contingent with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Ireland’s Jude Gallagher to advance to the next round of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 men’s boxing featherweight division on Wednesday at the North Paris Arena.
With early exits for Eumir Marcial and Hergie Bacyadan over the past 24 hours, the Tokyo 2020 flyweight silver medalist was determined to secure a victory.
The 26-year-old Filipino pugilist from Bukidnon will face either Belgium’s Vasile Usturoi or fourth-seeded Australia’s Charlie Senior for an assured bronze medal.
That bout is on Saturday, August 3, at 9:46 PM (Philippine time).
Paalam, perhaps knowing that he had done his job in the first two rounds, made sure to open the third with a good sequence of punches.
He then settled into a defensive stance, taking a few hits, before confidently ending the bout on his terms.
Paalam used his experience and speed to the fullest, landing solid punches to the Irishman’s body. The first round went the Filipino’s way, though it was surprisingly a split decision, 3-2, as the European had his moments against Paalam.
The second round followed the same script as the two boxers searched for scoring hits, but Paalam’s few solid ones saw him take the round on all the judges’ scorecards.
That was enough for the Filipino to take the win and move a step closer to securing an Olympic medal.
