Cagayan de Oro’s Carlo Paalam said he was not in his right mind in losing to eventual gold medalist Sachin of India in their recent AIBA World Youth Championships lightflyweight semifinal bout in St. Petersburg, Russia, and vowed the outcome will be different if they ever meet again.
Paalam, 18, settled for the bronze medal and earned a reward of P100,000 from ABAP president Ricky Vargas. On the way to the semifinals, Paalam beat Colombia’s Pedro Alarcon, 5-0, Ireland’s Jordan Moore, 4-1 and Russia’s Volodya Mnatsakanyan, 4-0. What unsettled Paalam’s mind was losing $200 of his $420 allowance to a thief before the match against Sachin. The money was stolen from his hotel room.
“I was stressed,” said Paalam in Pilipino. “I left the money in my bag but when I went back to my hotel room after beating Mnatsakanyan, it was gone. I felt really bad because I wanted to give it to my family.” Paalam said despite the stress, he fought Sachin on even terms until the last round. “I thought I was ahead,” he continued. “But my mind was not on the fight. Sachin is a good boxer but if we face off again, I know I’ll beat him.”
Coach Ronald Chavez, who accompanied ABAP’s delegation of five fighters with another coach Elias Recaido to St. Petersburg, said Paalam will learn from this experience. “Masipag sumuntok,” said Chavez, a 1992 Olympian. “Mataas ang boxing IQ ng bata. Madaling matuto.” Chavez noted that Paalam’s style is flexible and he adjusts easily to instructions from the corner. After the win over Mnatsakanyan, Russian fans applauded Paalam for defying the odds to defeat the hometowner.
ABAP executive director Ed Picson said Paalam has a bright future. “Since he was 10 years old, Paalam was already in the pool of prospects of Mayor Oca (Moreno),” he said. “Mayor kept telling us to watch this boy, that Carlo would go far. He’s shifty. He has speed and power. It’s too bad he wasn’t himself against Sachin. Coach Elias told me Carlo would’ve easily beaten Cuba’s Jorge Grinan if they met in the final.” As it turned out, Sachin outpointed Grinan for the 49-kilogram gold.
Chavez said Sachin was taller than Paalam by about three inches and enjoyed a longer reach. “It’s hard to penetrate Sachin’s defense because he fights from a distance,” he said in Pilipino. “Like Carlo, Sachin also throws a lot of punches. Sachin’s advantage is his length. If Carlo was more focused, maybe, he would’ve won.” (Philboxing.com)
Photo caption
Carlo Paalam (R) wins over Tuan Mohd Faizal of Malaysia during the ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan last year.
