Qatar’s Hakan Erseker in action against Boe Warawara from Vanuatu during their 56kg bout yesterday. PICTURES: Mamdouh

By Satya Rath
Doha

One could not have asked for a more dramatic start to the third day’s proceedings of the AIBA World Boxing Championships yesterday.
With Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao cheering in tandem with the capacity crowd —most of them Filipino fans who had come to catch a glimpse of their hero and idol—his country’s young boxer, Rogen Ladon, delivered probably the biggest upset of the championships so far when he outpunched light-flyweight favourite Joselito Velazquez to storm into the quarter-finals.
With a wave of lightning-fast combinations from the opening bell itself, Ladon looked in no mood to let the occasion get over him. There were times when one even expected a knockout, so precise and accurate were his punches. By the time the Filipino looked like tiring a bit, his opponent had no energy left to make a comeback. The 3-0 verdict was unanimous.
“I felt really good in the ring today. Our legend (Manny Pacquaio) was in the venue and I felt his support. The fans were great too, they gave me energy. I thank God I beat my Mexican rival. One more win and I would be in the medal round. Reaching this far is massive for me, but to meet Manny made the day. I will forever cherish this moment! It’s still feels unbelievable…,” said Ladon following his memorable victory.
It was a mixed day for hosts Qatar. While bantam weight Hakan Erseker was a comfortable 3-0 winner over Boe Warawara from Vanuatu, a tiny island in Oceania, it was a case of so near yet so far for the other Qatari boxer in fray in the evening session, Thulasi Tharumalingam in 64kg light welter, who crashed out on technical count.
Tharumalingam had to overcome Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov to reach the quarter-final stage. After facing the count three times in quick succession, his hopes ended in disappointment.
“I didn’t expect my opponent to be so strong, and I really had to perform to my maximum level to win this. I’m really proud to fight for the people of Qatar, and I hope that I can give them a gold medal–that’s what I’m here for!” Erseker said after his win.
Russia’s Vitaliy Dunaytsev, the reigning European light welterweight champion, looked like losing his ground after a sluggish start, but recovered well to thwart the challenge of his British rival Pat McCormack to book his place in the last 16.
London 2012 bronze medallist Yasnier Toledo of Cuba had too much power and pace for his Moroccan opponent to make the quarters. He was joined in the last eight later by four of his countrymates—Joahnys Argilagos, Andy Cruz Gomez, Arlen Lopez and Erislandy Savon—to cap a memorable day for the boxing powerhouse.

THAPA, KRISHAN IN QUARTERS
It was a fruitful day for Indian boxers as both Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Vikas Krishan (75kg) made it to the quarterfinals of the Doha Worlds with hard-fought wins.
While Thapa came from behind to notch up a stunning knockout victory over his Moroccan opponent Mohamed Hamout, Krishan out-witted his more fancied rival, Poland’s Tomasz Jablonski, in an close bout to make it an all-win day for India, in what was the third day of the WBC.
The 21-year-old Shiva will next be up against Qatar’s Erseker. The 23-year-old Vikas will face Egypt’s Hosam Abdin in his last eight clash.
First up in the ring for India was Shiva and in a terrific win, the Assam boxer knocked out his rival 26 seconds into the third and final round of the bout with a brutal left hook which landed right between the eyes of Hamout.
The Moroccan instantly collapsed in the ring, leading to an eight count following which medical attendants escorted him out in a disoriented state.
But it was not as smooth to start with for Shiva, who looked to be on the back foot in the first two rounds, but steadied himself enough to deliver that lethal left hook knockout to make the last eight.
Both the boxers hit attack mode from the first bell itself and in the opening three minutes, the judges ruled in favour of the Moroccan despite an even contest. However, the Indian, a silver medallist from the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, remained relentless in his attack in the second round and drew level via a split decision.
Vikas, in contrast, drained his rival out with a brilliant counter-attacking strategy. Fighting with a shell guard, the 2011 World Championships bronze winner lapped up his chances meticulously with some well-connected uppercuts. The clean straight hitting got him the scores as Vikas out-ran Jablonski in the first two rounds. However, Jablonski fought back in the third round and won it unanimously but Vikas emerged the overall winner owing to his early lead.
“It was not an easy bout, but I had studied him closely and had chalked out how to counter him. I knew I had to be on my guard all the time to frustrate him as he is a fast puncher. As he grew frustrated he let his guard down and that helped me land some punches. I am very happy to reach this far. No bout is easy in a World Championship, but I am confident and in good shape,” Krishan said.
Indian coach Gurbax Singh was all praise for his wards. “Shiva was exceptionally good with his hooks and that eventually won him the bout. Even his combination punches on the counter-attack were very accurate. It’s a very rare knockout win for an Indian boxer, I can’t recall any in my memory,” Sandhu said. “Vikas boxed superbly. The Polish guy was a tempo boxer but Vikas applied his mind well. He used uppercuts to the chin and occasional right hooks with precision.”