Paalam seeks to end boxers’ golden drought

NAGOYA, Japan -- Carlo Paalam is the last man standing for the six-strong Philippine men's boxing team in the 20th Asian Games, and on his shoulders rides a 16-year drought.

The last time the Philippines won Asian Games boxing gold was in Guangzhou 2010. Since then -- Incheon, Jakarta-Palembang, Hangzhou -- bronze, heartbreak, and near-misses.

On Wednesday at the Nishio Gymnasium, that drought either ends its long march toward gold, or continues.

Paalam punched his way into the medal round after outpointing China's Jiamao Zhang in the quarterfinals. The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist will now face the most dangerous man left in the draw: Kazakhstan's Makhmud Sabyrkhan.

It's a rematch that was four years in the making.

The two have met before, with Paalam defeating Sabyrkhan via a 4-1 split decision in the bantamweight final of the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan to claim the gold.

Paalam knows history won't help him. Sabyrkhan is not the same boy he beat in Amman.

Born 9 September 2001, the Kazakh has matured into a two-time world champion -- silver medalist in the 2021 AIBA World Championships and gold medalist in the 2023 IBA World Championships after blanking Uzbekistan's Oybek Juraev 5-0 in the final.

He represented Kazakhstan in the men's 57kg division in the 2024 Paris Olympics, then dropped to his ideal 55kg and dominated the 2025 WB World Boxing Championships. World Boxing voted him Best Boxer of 2025 for a reason.

Here in Nagoya, it's a chance for revenge for Sabyrkhan.

For Paalam and Philippine boxing, it's bigger than one fight. One win away from a guaranteed silver, two wins away from ending a gold drought that has lasted since Rey Saludar stood atop the podium in Guangzhou.

One Filipino left. One Kazakh world champion in his way.