Ladon mauls Moroccan rival

Veteran Rogen Ladon stopped Moroccan Said Mortaji in the second round while John Marvin toppled Iranian Pouria Amiri to remain in the hunt for slots to the 2024 Paris Olympics Thursday in the first World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy.

Ladon, fighting in the 51-kilogram class, got the job done at the 1:01 mark of the second canto to advance to the Round of 16.

Ladon, who competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, battles Kiarean MacDonald of Great Britain, bronze medalist in the third European Games in Poland last year.

Marvin also took the spotlight after flooring the Iranian with a flurry to enter the Round of 32 of the 92-kg division, forcing the Estonian referee Dmitri Melis to call a halt to the contest.

Next up for the Filipino-British Marvin is Kevin Prudence Lonlon Ko Kuadjovi of Togo, who he is tangling with at press time.

Sadly, Hergie Bacyadan wasn't as lucky as Ladon and Martin as she suffered a 2-3 split decision against Viviane Pereira of Brazil in the Round of 64 of the women's 75-kg division.

She and Riza Pasuit, who was eliminated in the women's 60-kg division last Tuesday, are the only boxers from the 10-man group who have assumed the role of spectators.

Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines secretary general Marcus Manalo said the Filipino pugs are set to walk the tightrope as the slugfest nears the medal round.

"KOs are not really planned and it will not be smart to rely on that moving forward. And don't expect much KO's going into the next rounds as the competition gets tougher," Manalo told DAILY TRIBUNE in an online conversation.

"They have to box smart and follow the fight plan."

Also competing in the Round-of-32 are Mark Ashley Fajardo (men's 63.5-kg), Ronald Chavez Jr. (men's 71-kg), Claudine Veloso (women's 54-kg) and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio (women's 57-kg).

So far, only Eumir Marcial has qualified for Paris after his runnerup finish in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.