Three fighters assured themselves of at least bronze medals after advancing to the semifinals of the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Jan. 20.
Mark Lester Durens, Aaron Jude Bado and Jericho Acaylar dominated their respective rivals to inch closer to ruling their weight divisions in this weeklong slugfest.
Durens, a bronze medalist at the 2021 ASBC Elite Men’s Boxing Championship in Dubai, whipped Nepal’s Prasad Upreti Lal in the men’s minimumweight (48kg) class via unanimous decision, 5-0, before Bado followed suit in similar fashion with a 5-0 thumping of Sri Lanka’s Pasindu Umayanga Mihiran in the men’s flyweight (51kg) division.
Acaylar, for his part, bested Indonesia’s Asri Udin, 4-1, to make it to the Last 4 of the men’s featherweight (57kg).
Durens’ triumph set him up a semis date with Uzbekistan’s Shodiyorjon Melikuziev, who blasted China’s Gou Guang Shuai.
Bado, meanwhile, faces Malaysia’s Qaiyum Ariffin, who escaped a 2-0 decision against Mongolia’s Davaadorj Lkhagvadorj, while Acaylar arranges a meeting with Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan, who won over Malaysia’s Muhamad Azri Alif Akmal in a Round 2 Referee Stopped Contest (RSC).
One more athlete in Mark Ashley Fajardo is battling for a semis spot as he faces Kyrgyzstan’s Askat Kultaev in the men’s light welter (63.5kg) at presstime.