Boxer Ladon delivers Phililippine’s 2nd silver in Asian Games

The Philippines settled for another silver medal at the 18th Asian Games when boxer Rogen Ladon lost in the men’s flyweight (52kg) final on Saturday.

Uzbekistan’s Jasurbek Latipov was declared winner via Referee Stopped Contest-Second Round in the gold medal match held at the Jakarta International Exhibition Center in Kemayoran.

The ring doctor stopped the bout after blood oozed from Ladon’s left eyebrow due to a wound caused by Latipov’s head butt.

“He [Uzbek] was in the ropes and when he sprung back, he gave me the head butt,” said the 25-year-old Ladon, a first-timer in the Asian Games. He placed ninth in the light flyweight (46kg to 49 kg) category at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Alliance of Boxing Associations in the Philippines (ABAP) president Ricky Vargas, who handed the silver medal to Ladon during the awarding ceremony, said: “It’s a major disappointment. Not only (to) me but (to) the entire country (that) aspired for the gold medal.”

With the loss, the Philippines ended its campaign with four golds, two silvers and 15 bronzes — a big improvement on the 1-3-11 gold-silver-bronze haul in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. In Guangzhou, the Philippines won three golds, four silvers and nine bronzes. PNA