GOLD CONTENDER. Rogen Ladon (right) in action against Thailand's Yuttapong Tongdee during the men's flyweight (52kg) semifinal in the 18th Asian Games boxing competition at the Jakarta International Exhibition Center in Kemayoran on Friday. Ladon won, 5-0. (Photo by PSC Media Pool)
JAKARTA – Olympian Rogen Ladon assured the Philippines of another silver medal after beating Thailand's Yuttapong Tongdee in the 18th Asian Games boxing competition here on Friday.
The 25-year-old Ladon, a first-timer in the Asian Games, scored a 5-0 victory over Tongdee, in their men's flyweight (52kg) match at the Jakarta International Exhibition Center in Kemayoran.
“I sort of confused the Thai by changing Rogen’s style in the first round. The instruction was to tease the opponent with his right and deliver the left straight," said men's head coach Ronald Chavez in an interview. “In the first round alone, we knew Rogen had the Thai under control”.
Ladon, who placed ninth in the light flyweight (46 kg to 49kg) category at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, fought with a three-fourth-inch cut in his right eyebrow and another cut in his nose bridge he sustained during his preliminary round match against Nepal's Prem Chaudhary.
Ed Picson, Alliance of Boxing Associations in the Philippines secretary general, said Ladon's experience in top-level tournaments helped him win.
“Rogen is a veteran of the World Championships and the Olympics. And he showed everybody how it is to be a veteran of those tournaments. He established control because of his composure,” Picson said.
The 5-foot-4 Ladon will fight for the gold medal on Saturday against Uzbekistan's Jasurbak Latipov.
Latipov, a gold winner at the 2017 Asian Championships, beat Kyrgysztan's Azat Usenaliev, 4-1, in the other semifinal match.
To reach the semifinal, Ladon downed Kazakhstan's Azat Mahmetov, 3-2, in the quarterfinals.
The 5-foot-5 Latipov, on the other hand, prevailed over China's Hu Jianguan, 3-2, in the preliminary and Indonesia's Aldoms Suguro, 4-1, in the semis.
In 2015, Ladon won the silver at the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore and Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, and the bronze at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Two more boxers are scheduled to see action in the semifinal round later in the day.
Carlo Paalam will face India's Amit in the men's light flyweight (46kg to 46 kg) category, while 2017 SEA Games champion Eumir Felix Marcial will meet Uzbekistan's Israil Madrimov in the men's middleweight (75kg) class.
The 5-foot-11 Marcial won over South Korean Kim Jin-jea in the quarterfinals. He beat Macau's Kuok Kun Ng via referee stop contest (RSC) 2:09 in the second round of their match in the preliminary round.
Marcial, who won the welterweight (69kg) silver medal in the Asian Championships and Thailand International Boxing Championships in 2015, will be up against Uzbekistan's Israil Madrimov, who prevailed over Iran's Seyedshahin, 5-0, in the quarterfinal.
Madrimov, 2014 Asian Games welterweight silver medalist, won the middleweight gold medal in the Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbelistan and the Thailand International Boxing Championships in Bangkok last year. (PNA)
