Carlo Paalam is not yet ready to turn professional.
This as the 23-year-old native of Cagayan de Oro still feels that he has more to give the amateur boxing ranks after taking silver in the men’s flyweight division of the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
“Hindi ko pa iniisip yun,” Paalam said during a virtual press conference organized by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Sunday morning.
Paalam was so close to ending the country’s Olympic gold drought last Saturday.
After overcoming Ireland’s Brendan Irvine, Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi, Rio champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan, and hometown bet Ryomie Tanaka en route to the final, Great Britain’s Galal Yafai proved to in the final stage to settle for silver.
If ever Paalam qualifies for the 2024 Paris Games, he will definitely be one of the top dogs since Yafai is already expected to turn pro after winning gold.
Besides his road to redemption, all in Paalam’s mind right now is his family — both the ones in Carmen and the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines.
“Ang unang plano ko ay makasama ‘yung pamilya ko bago ako bumalik sa training,” said Paalam, whose cash windfall for placing second is expected to reach P20-million.
Of course, there’s a lot of tournaments slated for the national boxing team, including the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games; the Southeast Asian Games; and the Asian Games, among others.
That is why for Paalam, his coaches headed by Don Abnett, Elmer Pamisa, and Roel Velasco should be well taken care of as well.
“Kung hindi po sa kanila, hindi namin maaabot mga pangarap namin. Sana po, ma-reward rin sila.”
