MARK ANTHONY BARRIGA, PHILIPPINES’ BEST HOPE LOSES IN OLYMPICS 2012, ABAP’s APPEAL REJECTED

The only Filipino boxer in the London Olympics 2012 loses against his Kazakhstan foe by one point on Saturday. Mark Anthony Barriga would have won the match but a controversial call by the referee ended his journey for the gold. The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) has filed a protest before the International Boxing Association (AIBA) over Barriga’s defeat but it was rejected.

According to reports, referee Roland Labbe of Canada made the controversial call in the third round when Barriga allegedly headbutted Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov. The warning gave Barriga’s opponent an additional 2 points which had cost the 19-year-old Filipino fighter to lose by a single point, 17-16.

Boxing turned into a wrestling match. The Filipino light flyweight was leading the match, 10-8, heading to the third and final round when Zhakypov became aggresive and wrestled Barriga to the ground three times but it was Barriga who got a warning for alleged ducking and headbutting. Without the 2-point addition to the Kazakh boxer, Barriga would have won the match and moved on to the quarterfinals.

AKTV reported that the referee should have not applied the 2-point addition to Zhakypov because Barriga was only warned once in the third round.

It was reported that the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) President Ricky Vargas has filed a protest before the International Boxing Association (AIBA) over Barriga’s defeat, questioning the 2 additional points for the Kazakhstan fighter.

On Sunday, ABAP executive director Ed Picson said in an AKTV report that the protest was rejected. He said the AIBA found the protest “too subjective to review.” “What that means, I really don’t know,” Picson was quoted as saying by AKTV.