Kazakh stops Fajardo

Three more members of the Philippine boxing team had to settle for bronze medals after losing in the semifinal of the ASBC Asian Under 22 and Youth Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan last Saturday.

Mark Ashley Fajardo lost to hometown bet Yerasyl Tankay in the U22 men’s light welterweight division after the referee stopped the contest in the second round.

Fajardo, who fought in the 2024 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualifying in Italy last March, made heads turn after a knockout win over Ali Qasim Al-Sarray of Iraq in the quarterfinal.

Jay Brian Baricuatro also couldn’t get the job done in the U22 men’s minimumweight after Vishvanath Suresh of India got a split decision in their semifinal bout.

Flint Jara missed out on a potential gold medal after getting knocked out by Enkhsaikhan Oyun-Erdene of Mongolia in the second round of their U22 men’s bantamweight match.

Last Friday, Robert Malunoc Jr. settled for a bronze medal after a 4-1 decision against Muinkhodz Muminov of Tajikistan in their youth men’s 48-kilogram semifinal, making it a total of four bronze medals for the Philippines.