Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam and Clark Vicera struck gold in their respective divisions after winning in the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands.
Paalam ruled the men’s 55-kilogram division after beating Abdul Burton of England, 5-0, in the final.
The Cagayan de Oro native showed his prowess in the entire tournament, beating Justin Sahin of Germany 5-0 in the quarterfinal and Bennama Billal of France 4-1 in the semifinal.
Paalam is using the tournament as part of his preparation for the 19th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan from 19 September to 4 October.
Also making an impact in the competition was the 18-year-old Vicera as he dominated the men’s 50kg division after beating Sameer Ardawan of Belgium via unanimous decision in the final.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Marcus Manalo was impressed with Vicera as he won his second gold medal in two weeks after dominating the 63rd Belgrade Winner Elite Men and Women Boxing Tournament in Serbia.
“Just his first international trip as an elite boxer. Two golds in two weeks as he also won in Belgrade. Mabuhay!” Manalo said.
Unfortunately, Filipino pugs Paul Bascon and Riza Pasuit fell short of the podium finish in their campaign in the Netherlands.
Bascon, who snagged a bronze medal at last week’s Belgrade tilt, lost to hometown bet Mahmoud Al Chabtun in the quarterfinal, 1-4.
Pasuit, who previously captured gold in Serbia with Vicera, bowed to France’s Zidani Amina in the quarterfinals of the women’s elite 57kg quarterfinal.
