THE Philippines’ medal hopes were given a much needed shot in the arm, following a big debut win from Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam.

Paalam defeated Ireland’s Jude Gallagher in the Round of 16 boxing category at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The 57kg men’s featherweight contest at the North Paris Arena in France ensured that everyone is left satisfied, as Paalam and Gallagher provided an intense and exciting match for the fans. 

The Filipino boxer, motivated by the prospect of winning a gold medal, ensured that the Philippines’ pride was restored by winning 5-0 in a unanimous decision.

Paalam, Gallagher! 

The 26-year-old Paalam demonstrated his veteran experience-based performance with unrivaled speed and great footwork, outwitting his younger but more aggressive Irish opponent. 

Paalam, like the other boxers, faced a considerably taller opponent, Gallagher. He was successful in setting the pace at the start of the game, but the round might have gone the other way. 

However, in the decisive second round, the Filipino fighter unleashed a barrage of blows that earned him a unanimous decision from the five judges. Taking off from there, Paalam was unstoppable in the last round, demonstrating his mastery.

The scores went 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28, all in favor of the overpowering Paalam. The Filipino pride now takes a significant step further in his attempt to improve his performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Mind over matter

In an interview, Paalam said that the secret to his tremendous debut triumph was using his seasoned smarts, underlining that anyone’s strength in the ring is useless if you’re not smart enough to find and land it.

“Unang una ‘yung talino po, to be wise in the ring, kasi useless po ‘yung lakas kung hindi tatama ‘yung suntok mo,” says Paalam, who clearly used his Olympic experience against his younger opponent.

“Iniisip ko palagi na ‘yung lakas dapat 30%, ‘yung talino maging 70%, ayon po palagi ang mindset ko. Para sa akin, ‘yung bigat ng suntok sobrang bigat talaga, pero talino talaga sa taas ng ring kasi useless kung hindi tatama ng solid.” 

Paalam became the third Filipino boxer to win in Paris, joining Aira Villegas and fellow Tokyo Games silver winner Nesthy Petecio in the next round. 

Paalam will return on August 3, Villegas on August 2 at 2:00AM against No. 2 seed Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria in the women’s 50 kg class, and Petecio on August 3 at 2:00AM against local favorite Amina Zidani.