Olympic dreams

The fate of the Philippine boxing team in 2027 and beyond will be discussed this weekend in Baguio City.

National team head coach Pat Gaspi told DAILY TRIBUNE on Thursday that the inner circle of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) is set to gather at Teacher’s Camp in Baguio City, the longtime training headquarters of the team, on Saturday and Sunday.

“The focus is the approach to 2027 because that would be the year when two qualifying tournaments are taking place,” said Gaspi, referring to the Philippines’ bid to send as much as six fighters to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Happening in April is the World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan followed by the Asian championships that will be hosted by China months later.

Those who won’t make the Olympic grade in 2027, have until the first half of 2028 to qualify with the final world qualifying meets scheduled in Italy and Hungary.

Gaspi admitted that the coaching staff and the entire ABAP face daunting odds because of the major changes that have taken place.

In LA28, the weight categories that will be featured are 55 kilograms (bantam), 60 kg (lightweight), 65 kg (welterweight), 70 kg (light-middle), 80 kg (light-heavy), 90 kg (heavyweight) and 90+ kg (super-heavyweight) in men’s and 51 kg (fly), 54 kg (bantam), 57 kg (feather), 60 kg (lightweight), 65 kg (welter), 70 kg (light-middle) and 75 kg (middle) in women’s competitions.

Even in the Asian Games, the lower weight classes like 49 kg (light-fly) and 52 kg (fly), have been removed, leaving the Philippines and a bevy of other nations severely affected.

“Our recruitment program has been affected because of this,” said Gaspi, a three-time Southeast Asian Games medalist and a member of the national team’s coaching staff since 1990.

In the last Asian Games in Nagoya, the Philippines could only bring home one medal — a silver courtesy of Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam.

Paalam is expected to lead the Philippines’ quest in the qualifying tournaments as the Cagayan de Oro native guns for his third straight Olympic Games.

Gaspi swore that Paalam and the remaining national team standouts could be making their last Olympic run in LA28 because of age.

Paalam turns 29 this October while fellow Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas are 34 and 31, respectively.

After them, the ABAP’s talent pool is not as deep.

Only Jay Bryan Baricuatro, a silver medalist in the 2025 World Boxing Cup and European Cup Czechia 2025 champion has solid credentials.

But for all his achievements, Baricuatro fights in the light-fly and flyweight classes, making him too small to make the jump to 55 kg for LA28.

A potential Olympian, Mark Ashley Fajardo, recently made the jump to the professional ranks.

Fajardo, just 21, scored his first win in the pros over the weekend in Genereal Santos City.

“This meeting will be very crucial,” added Gaspi.

Indeed, Philippine boxing’s trajectory will depend on it.