Boxing
Super Suarez outpoints Japanese foe, one win away from Olympic boxing berth
Charly Suarez repulsed the challenge of Japanese Daisuke Narimatsu late Wednesday night to get chance at winning the gold and automatically earning a slot in the London Olympic Games.
Suarez scored a 24-11 victory in the Olympic Qualifying Event at the Daulet Sports Complex to arrange a finals showdown with Chinese Liu Qiang, who took out a Mongolian puncher in the other semifinal pairing.
The Suarez-Qiang gold medal match will be held at 4:45 pm (Manila time) on Thursday with a victory by the Filipino averting a shutout for the five-man boxing squad sent here to vie for Olympic berths.
Only light-flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga has secured a ticket to London and this came during the world championships last year in Baku, Azerbaijan, when his tormentor in the quarterfinals went on to win the gold medal.
Pressure is on Suarez to win and gain the lightweight division’s lone Olympic slot following the early losses suffered by four other Filipino aspirants.
Eliminated early were Rey Saludar, Dennis Galvan, Wilfredo Lopez and Joegin Ladon.
This tournament is the last Olympic qualifying event for Asian fighters.
