Paalam gets back at Turkmen foe to advance in boxing Olympic qualifiers round-of-16

MANILA, Philippines -- The last time Carlo Paalam faced Turkmenistan’s Shukur Ovezov last March in Italy, the Filipino had to withdraw in the second round due to a shoulder injury.

On Tuesday night, the Tokyo silver medalist had a chance to settle the score.

In full strength, the 25-year-old Cagayan de Oro-born pug served Ovezov a dish best served cold — vengeance — in an impressive unanimous decision victory that catapulted him to the round-of-16 in the 2nd World Boxing Qualification tournament to the Paris Olympics in Bangkok, Thailand.

Paalam was clinical in his decimation of Ovezov in their men’s 57-kilogram division bout and easily swayed the five judges to score it in his favor via 30-27 across the board.

That set the stage for a showdown with Armenian Artur Bazeyan, who survived a feisty Yousef Iashash of Jordan, 3-2.

This will be one of the three victories Paalam would need to claim a seat to the quadrennial games in July in the French capital where fellow boxers Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas await.

Paalam was one of the last two Filipinos standing with the other being Hergie Bacyadan, who stayed in the Olympic hunt in the women’s 75kg category.

Paalam hopes that his brittle shoulder, which he injured in that fateful night in Italy last March, holds so as he won’t be bidding adieu to his Olympic campaign early.