TOKYO SILVER medalist Carlo Paalam faltered against Australia’s Charlie Senior in a hard-fought split-decision loss, ending his 2024 Paris Olympic stint in the men’s featherweight category with a fifth to eighth-place finish. Last night’s contest transpired at the North Paris Arena in Seine-Saint-Denis, France.
In the opening round, Paalam consistently evaded most of Senior’s attacks to earn a slim 3-2 favor from the judges. To avoid the slow pace of the earlier round, Senior accelerated the speed of his assaults, enabling him to tally more points to even the score.
The final round saw a more aggressive Paalam, as he used his decisive one-two punch combinations to break past his taller Australian opponent’s stance. However, despite being determined to grind out a victory and a sure medal, the 5’4” Filipino boxer failed to surpass Senior’s intensity, which ultimately spelled his split decision defeat.
Although Paalam fell short of securing his second Olympic medal, Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio still carry the country’s hopes of a first-ever boxing gold in the quadrennial meet.
Villegas succeeded in her quarterfinal bout earlier in the morning, while Petecio hopes to replicate her compatriot’s performance later today, August 4, at the same venue.
