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MANILA, Philippines – They call it the luck of the draw for a reason. At the AIBA Olympic boxing draw on Thursday, August 4, Lady Luck shined down on Filipino light flyweight Rogen Ladon but scorned lightweight Charly Suarez.
While Ladon, the third ranked 49-kilogram boxer in the world, earned a first round bye, Suarez was handed a treacherous road map through the 32-man tournament that would lead him through some of his weight class' toughest boxers.
Suarez, 27, of Sawata, Davao del Norte, Philippines, will face Joe Cordina, a 24-year-old Welsh boxer representing Great Britain. Both are first-time Olympians, but Cordina is rated 6 spots higher than Suarez by AIBA at 8th, and has come into his own of late, having earned a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2015 European Championships.
Cordina stands two inches taller at 5-foot-9, and is the sort of an unorthodox, switch-hitting, slippery fighter that no one enjoys fighting against. Cordina has been knocked down a few times, and was knocked out in one round by Canada's David Gauthier in May of 2014 before avenging the defeat a few months later.
The Suarez vs Cordina match is set for 5 am Manila time on Sunday, August 7.
One man who has been in the ring with both boxers – New Zealand boxer Chad Milnes – agrees that Suarez is in for a tough first fight, but says the 2014 silver medalist and two-time SEA Games gold medalist is no slouch, either.
"It's hard. Joe Cordina's been beating everyone," says Milnes, a New Zealander whose mother is Filipina. Milnes lost to Cordina at the Commonwealth Games and spent a month training alongside Suarez in Baguio City. He sees an opening for Suarez in the power department.
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"Styles make fights; [Cordina] is tall, awkward, fast with his hands and feet and pot shots well.
"I dont know what Charly's like with chasing down tall guys. Joe doesn't mix it up. He's a one- or two-shot guy. Unless you stand still, [then] he'll start to put together good shots. And he's got long arms."
Should Suarez get by Cordina, he'll have to face the winner between Hurshid Tojibaev of Uzbekistan and Hakan Erşeker of Qatar in the round of 16. Uzbekistan and Great Britain are two of the 5 countries which sent full 10-boxer teams in the men's divisions.
Philippine national boxing coach Nolito "Boy" Velasco, ever the optimist, welcomes the challenge.
"It's nice to face the tough ones because, if you get past them, your chances are better. It's in the boxer. Whoever is more prepared, that's who will show he's good," said Velasco, whose brothers Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco and Roel Velasco were the Philippines' last two Olympic medalists two decades ago.
Then again, Suarez fought Vasyl Lomachenko, the two-time Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine who may be the best skilled pro boxer today, on one week's notice and an injured shoulder. And lasted the 5-round distance.
Ladon, 22, will have to wait and see who he fights first. The native of Bago City, Negros Occidental, will meet the winner between Patrick Lourenço of Brazil and Yurberjen Martinez of Colombia in the second round at 10 pm on Monday, August 8, Manila time. Neither are particularly well known – Lourenço's best achievement is making the quarters at the 2013 World Championships.
If Ladon gets past that bout, he'll likely face Paddy Barnes, the 2008 and 2012 bronze medalist from Ireland. Barnes hasn't had the best luck with Filipino boxers, losing to 2012 Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga at the 2011 World Championships. It was that win which earned Barriga his Olympic berth as he was the fifth man in at that qualifier, losing to the eventual gold medalist Zou Shiming in the next round.
It gets tougher from there. Ladon would have to then face Cuba's Joahnys Argilagos, a 19-year-old who won gold at the 2015 World Championships, the same tournament where Ladon earned bronze to make his name.
As a general rule about amateur boxing, your odds go up the longer you can avoid the Cubans.
Suarez and Ladon didn't make it to Rio by being afraid of anyone, however. Just as Filipinos are biting their nails hoping for the best, boxing fans in their opponents' home country's are cursing Lady Luck for drawing warriors from the land of Pacquiao. – with reports from PH pool reporter/Rappler.com
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