
The Philippines bowed out of contention in the 74th Strandja International Boxing Tournament after its three remaining fighters succumbed to their rivals in Sofia, Bulgaria Friday, Feb. 24.
Paul Julyfer Bascon failed to advance in the men’s 60kg lightweight semifinal after absorbing a 5-0 beating from Uzbekistan’s Abdumurodov Dilsoh, even as Marvin Tabamo also yielded to China’s Zhang Jiamao, 5-0, in the men’s 51kg flyweight quarterfinal.
Aira Villegas was the last to make an exit after losing her quarters bout to France’s Wassila Lkhadiri, 5-0, in the women’s 50kg light flyweight class.
The tournament was the first international exposure for Filipino senior fighters as they gear up for a busy year that includes the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May and the 19th Asian Games in China in September.
Other Filipinos who made early exits in Europe’s oldest boxing competition were Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, Junmilardo Ogayre, James Palicte, Cleo Tesara, Irish Magno and Maricel Dela Torre.
Around 470 boxers from 42 nations participated in the tournament.