Olympics: Breaking down Paalam’s surprising loss

Photo courtesy of: Federacion Espau00f1ola de Boxeo Facebook page

Unexpectedly, Carlo Paalam had to say goodbye to his medal dreams.

After a close encounter in which neither competitor emerged as dominant, Paalam found himself on the losing end of a 3-2 split decision awarded to Australia’s Charlie Senior.

The loss eliminated Paalam from the men’s featherweight tournament, dashing his hopes of improving on a silver medal finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Sobrang dismayado, siyempre. Tiniyaga ko eh,” a disappointed Paalam told One Sports after the fight. “Pasensya sa lahat.”

In the opening round, the Cagayan de Oro native struggled to find an opening as the 5-foot-10 Senior defended himself exceptionally well. On the other hand, the Aussie missed several punches as Paalam maximized his signature speed to get out of harm’s way. Thanks to better efficiency of landed blows, Paalam had a 3-2 edge on the scorecards at the end of Round 1.

Senior, a two-time Australian national champion, retained control of the center of the ring in Round 2. Though the spatial advantage went to Senior, Paalam increased his volume of punches thrown and landed multiple counters. During one sequence, the Pinoy hotshot connected on a left hook and right cross that knocked Senior’s head backwards.

Despite the uptick in Paalam’s aggression, it was Senior who led on three of the five judges’ scorecards after Round 2. In the third and final round, both boxers emptied their tanks as the guaranteed medal finish loomed. With Senior no longer controlling the center of the ring, Paalam moved more freely and exploited multiple angles in his offense. Late in the round, Senior yanked Paalam away off a clinch after feeling the brunt of one-two combinations.

Three judges, however, weren’t convinced that Paalam did enough to win the round. As a result, the scorecards read 30-27, 29-28, 27-30, 28-29, 28-29 in favor of Senior at the end of the bout.

In hist post-fight interview, Paalam offered his personal assessment of the encounter.

“Wala naman talaga siyang tama na solid sa akin, puro hampas na nga eh,” Paalam said. With a tone of acceptance, he added, “Pero, ganun talaga.”