Tokyo Olympics: Carlo Paalam beats Olympic champion Zoirov to guarantee Philippines another boxing medal
- Filipino Paalam defeats Olympic champion Zoirov on points to secure at least Tokyo 2020 bronze
- The 23-year-old now faces Japan’s Ryomei Tanaka in the semi-finals
It was a controversial conclusion to an enthralling, albeit brief, last-eight encounter that guaranteed the winner at least Olympic bronze in the fabled home of sumo.
A clash of heads, deemed accidental, brought a halt to a furious round two with the referee noticing blood on both fighters. Paalam’s cut was judged superficial, but the ringside doctor immediately called off the contest after seeing the large gash which had opened up in the eyebrow of the World Championship gold medallist Zoirov.
The experienced Uzbek, who has a 3-0 professional record, was stunned by the decision to end the fight and from that point was hoping the judges at ringside had seen enough in the opening 60 seconds of round two to award it to him, after Paalam had taken the opening round unanimously.
It wasn’t to be and the 23-year-old Paalam was given the win, a guarantee of a second Olympic medal for Philippines’ boxing “dream team” here in Tokyo, and a chance to fight for Olympic gold in Thursday’s semi-final.