Pinoy pugs set for Korean camp

The national boxing team will fly to South Korea on 7 April for a 10-day training camp in preparation for major international tournaments ahead.

National team mentor Ronald Chavez said they will hold their camp in Jincheon-gun not just to sharpen their skills but also to scout potential opponents in the World Boxing Championships that will be held in Liverpool from 4 to 14 September and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand from 9 to 20 December.

Jincheon-gun serves as the nerve center of South Korean sports as it houses the Jincheon National Training Center, a sports village under the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee.

A total of 10 boxers will be in joining the Korean camp in Ofelia Magno, Riza Pasuit, Marvin Tabamo, Jay Bryan Baricutro, Ian Clark Bautista, Eljay Pamisa, Mark Ashley Fajardo, John Paul Napoles, Brandon Jay Soriano and Norlan Petecio.

“Right now, we are just waiting for the release of our visa. Once the visa is approved, we might leave on 5 or 6 April for the training camp and mini-tournament,” Chavez said.

“If it’s a camp like that, you can’t hide the boxers. You also have to study your opponents.”

The Philippines is looking to improve its finish of four gold, five silver and a bronze medal in the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023.

Chavez said he expects Paris Olympics bronze medalists Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas to keep up with their training as they will not make it to the Korean camp.

“I cannot comment on that because they were assigned to other coaches. But, I think they probably asked permission from our secretary general so maybe they already talked about it,” Chavez said.

“For sure, there’s a bigger program for Aira and Nesthy.”