Carlos Paalam is an Olympic hero. He may have only a silver medal to show off, but his life story would make the members of the International Olympic Committee (OIC) to embrace him as one of their own. After all, his rags-to-riches story, and his determination and resilience, is as golden and shining as any Olympic champion in boxing.
Carlos Paalam's humble background in Cagayan de Oro is similar to Manny Pacquiao's. Boxing fights were the only way out of poverty for both boxers. Pacquiao had a successful professional career, but he never had a chance to fight in the Olympic ring. Paalam had a different path, winning the gold medal in the flyweight division in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
The Mindanaoan wasn't one of the favorites in the flyweight division in the 2020 Summer Olympics, but his struggles hardened him. It made him determined to make it to the medal podium. Carlos Paalam may have lost to Briton Galal Yafal in the finals, but his silver was as shiny as Galal's gold.
Carlos Paalam received a lot of financial incentives from the government and private sector after his successful Olympic stint. His life story was dramatized in a weekly TV drama anthology. His image was featured in a Philippine commemorative stamp issue. And he settled down. Paalam could've bid the sport goodbye, but he was a spring chicken after the Tokyo Olympics. The Paris Olympics were a few years away.
Carlos Paalam injury almost gave up on his quest for a second Olympic appearance. He sustained a shoulder injury at the 2024 IBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy last March. Mexican boxer Andrey Bonnilla slammed him into the canvas, causing the pain to swell. He had to pull out. The injury didn't heal a month after that qualifying event, frustrating him. He almost threw the white towel. But his family and colleagues encouraged him.
"I really turned off my phone so that no one could disturb me. I really took the time to unwind. I was keen on going to the beach or the mountains, thinking, 'Can I still make it? How am I going to recover?'”
"I stayed, and so did my coach. I told him that let's just stay here, coach, and I'll do my best to recover and go to therapy because I was practically doing it myself, but the PTs (physical therapists) in Baguio were helping me. I may not be able to attend [all sessions] physically but at least I managed to do it through my phone."
The mental part was the hardest in Paalam’s recovery. Paalam, who was born in Bukidnon, had to console himself every time he unleashed a punch because his right shoulder would ache.
"The mental part is really huge because that's where you generate your perseverance to do the everyday things. There are people who don't believe in you, and you want to prove them wrong. That's where I was coming from. I said in my previous media interviews that I was going to get the slot. I can't promise, but I will do my best."
Finding a second wind, Paalam, despite his injury, indeed got the Olympic slot in the Second Qualification Tournament in Bangkok.
Abdumalik Khalokov won the silver medal in the lightweight division in the 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships and then followed it with a gold in the featherweight division in the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championships. Khalokov scored an impressive win over Horta in the gold-medal match, so no boxing fan would bet against the Uzbek fighter. This boxer is in superb condition.
Javier Ibanez’s decorated career would make him a shoo-in for the gold-medal bout. And we pick him over Horta IF the two face off in the other semifinals.
Saidel Horta could’ve been the best boxer in the 57 kilogram division. Two boxers are standing in his way, though.
Carlos Paalam has the luck of the draw. He might be luckier in the semifinals.
Abdumalik Khalokov won the men's featherweight division at the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championship, which should make him the gold medal favorite in this event. The Uzbek fighter is the banana peel in Carlos Paalam's quest for an Olympic gold medal. Both men found themselves in the top half of the draw, and there's a likelihood that they would clash in the semifinals.
Paalam may be unseeded, but he's one of the few boxers who are beneficiaries of the luck of the draw; the Filipino boxer will meet Jude Gallagher in the opening round. Paalam, a native of Cagayan de Oro, defeated the Irish pug in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so expect him to win more points. Paalam is likely to meet Charlie Senior in the quarterfinals. The Aussie boxer, seeded fourth, won the gold medal at the 2023 Pacific Games. The win secured his place in the 2024 Summer Olympics, but Paalam's experience would give him the edge.
The other quarterfinal match could be a rematch between Jahmal Harvey and Saidel Horta. The former prevailed over the latter in the 2023 Pan American Games. Moreover, Harvey was tipped as the American boxer who could win an Olympic medal. But this is the Olympics. The Cubans have saved their best for the biggest sporting event. And boxing fans couldn't miss the all-Cuban semifinal match between Ibanez and Horta.
Carlos Paalam won the gold medal in the bantamweight division of the 2022 Asian Amateur Boxing Championship. The Filipino boxer has a solid history in amateur boxing over the years, so he has a good chance to score a huge upset over Khalokov in the semifinals and then Ibanez, or Horta, in the finals. Paalam is seasoned and tested. He could do the impossible, out slugging a Cuban boxer in a major boxing event.
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