Paalam punches for Paris medal

PARIS, France — Carlo Paalam hopes to become the first medalist among three remaining Filipino boxers when he battles Australian fourth seed Charlie Senior in the quarterfinal round of the men’s 57kg class in the Paris Olympics on Sunday, 3 August, at the North Paris Arena.

But for Paalam to advance to the semis, he should be quicker and smarter in his 3:30 p.m. showdown with Senior who is six inches taller at 5-foot-10.

A win would assured the former garbage collector from Cagayan de Oro another precious metal.

“Basta follow ko lang strategy ng mga coaches, siguro malaki ang chance ko. Pero hindi puwede mag-relax, Olympics na ito,” said Paalam after beating Irish Jude Galagher via a unanimous decision on Thursday, 31 July.

The 22-year-old Galagher was touted as Paalam’s biggest thorn before a projected semis collision with erstwhile Asian Games tormentor Abdumalik Khalolov of Uzbekistan.

Senior is coming off a 4-1 win over Belgian Vasile Ustoroi.

The former dancer even wowed the crowd after the Perth boxer celebrated his win with a backflip.

In a story that came out on the page of the Australian Olympic Committee, Senior said: “I didn’t come in here looking for easy fights.”