IBA silver medalist traces roots in CDO's 'boxing at the park'

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Before winning the silver medal at the 2022 International Boxing Association (IBA) Youth Men’s and Women’s World Championships in La Nucia, Spain, 17-year-old Ronel Suyom had his first amateur fight at the "Boxing at the Park" here.

Boxing coach Elmer Pamisa said Monday Suyom had two fights in the "Boxing at the Park," before he was flown to fight at the IBA championships and fought India’s Vishvanath Suresh in the minimum weight class match in the Nov. 14- 26 boxing tilt.

"Many (in the IBA community) said they could not find (Suyom's) previous records and they wondered how he was trained," he said following Monday's flag-raising ceremony at the city hall grounds.

Pamisa said it was the "Boxing at the Park" that Suyom had his "first and only" exposure earlier this year before the IBA event.

Although he hails from Agusan del Norte province, Suyom thanked the city government here for helping him and his team process the required travel documents.

"I thank Mayor Rolando Uy for helping me process, especially the passports because without it, I can't travel," Suyom said in the vernacular.

The Philippine Olympic Committee has set its eyes on Suyom as the “next big thing” in Philippine boxing.

Suyom and Pamisa were also joined by Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam, who was also recognized for his recent gold medal win at the Asian Boxing Confederation Elite Boxing Championships last month in Amman, Jordan.

Paalam won the 54-kilogram bantamweight finals against Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan.

Like Suyom, the city-born Paalam was also trained by Pamisa and had amateur matches at the "Boxing at the Park." (PNA)