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RP's Tañamor wins gold in amateur boxing WCup
Written by staff   
Tuesday, 16 December 2008 03:16

MANILA, Philippines - Veteran international boxer Harry Tañamor rebounded from a disappointing showing in the Beijing Olympics by giving the Philippines a gold medal in the first Amateur International Boxing Association World Cup which ended Sunday at the Megasport Palace in Moscow, Russia.

The 31-year-old Tañamor, who made a first-round exit in the Beijing Games after an unexpected defeat to Ghana's Manyo Planque, dismantled Cuba's Yampier Hernandez 15-7 in the finals of the light-flyweight division.

Only boxers who finished in the top eight in the World Championship and Beijing Olympics were invited to the tournament that offers $10,000 (P480,000) to the champion.

Showing he is the best in his weight division, Tañamor used his speed and calculated punches to give himself and a nation yearning for a first Olympic gold some measure of consolation.

"I'm elated to have won this title, it means a lot to me," said Tañamor, who was a silver medalist in the 2007 World Championship and the gold-medal winner in the first AIBA President's Cup.

World Championship and Beijing Olympics gold medalist Zhu Shiming of China did not join the event. But still, the competition was considered world-class with Olympic bronze winner Hernandez the most decorated participant in the tournament.

In reaching the finals, Tañamor defeated Murodjon Rasulov of Tajikistan 8-4 in he quarterfinals and won over Lukasz Masczczyk of Poland 12-4 in the semifinals.

Hernandez reached the finals with victories over Belik Galanov of Mongolia 13-5 and Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan 13-3.

"We at (the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines) are very happy with the victory of Tañamor. After receiving flak in the Beijing Games, (Tañamor) showed we are working hard but simply didn't get the break that we needed in that tournament," said outgoing ABAP president Manny Lopez.

"This is a good momentum to build on as our new sets of officers take place this January."

Tañamor easily dominated Hernandez since he had sparred with the Cuban pug while training in Cuba for the Beijing Games.

Despite the defeat, Cuba still emerged as the best boxing nation in the tournament by bagging six gold medals and two silver medals.

Russia took second with three gold, a silver and five bronze medals, while Philippines and Armenia came in tied for third with a gold each.
 
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