Malunoc bags boxing bronze

Robert Malunoc Jr. settled for a bronze medal after dropping a 4-1 decision to Muinkhodz Muminov of Tajikistan in their youth men’s minimumweight semifinal bout of the ASBC Asian Under 22 and Youth Boxing Championships Friday in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Still, the 2019 ASBC Asian Confederation Schoolboys Boxing Championships bronze medalist got a medal for the Philippines’ 15-man delegation.

Also competing as of press time are Jay Brian Baricuatro of the U22 men’s minimumweight, Flint Jara in the U22 men’s bantamweight and Mark Ashley Fajardo in the U22 men’s light welterweight.

Baricuatro made it to the semifinal after a 5-0 decision over Shodiyorjon Melikuziev of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinal.

Meanwhile, Jara scored a 4-1 decision against Alisher Orazbayev of Turkmenistan in the quarterfinal and will exchange blows with Enkhsaikhan Oyun-Erdene of Mongolia in the semifinal for a chance at the gold medal.

Fajardo delivered a mean right hook for a knockout win over Abdallah Almharat of Jordan in the first round of their quarterfinal match, setting up a semifinal showdown against hometown bet Yerasyl Tankay.

Aaron Jude Bado fell short of securing a medal after a 0-5 loss against Asilbek Jalilov of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinal of the U22 men’s flyweight division.