Little Pacquiao came up big for the Philippines. Light flyweight Mark Barriga easily handled Italy's Manuel Cappai in the opening bout for the only Filipino boxer in London, earning a 17-7 victory. Barriga's one-sided win was an encouraging result for a strong boxing nation with little recent history of amateur success.
The 19-year-old Barriga trained in Manny Pacquiao's camp to prepare for the Olympics, earning the nickname "Little Pacquiao" in the Filipino media. The 5-foot-2 slugger's potent punching power suggests he was taking notes from the beloved Filipino congressman.
Barriga knows the coming days would be tougher and that his journey toward an Olympic gold medal here would not be easy.
“This is just one victory, it’s still a long way to go,” said Mark, the 19-year-old Panabo City pug shortly after his 17-7 triumph over Italy’s Manual Cappai in the first round of their men’s boxing’s light flyweight match on Monday. His triumph was witnessed by his parents, Edgar and Melita, whom Barriga credited for inspiring him to do his best in his Olympic debut.
PHOTO: Pinoy boxer Mark Barriga after 1st win in #London2012. Barriga knows the coming days would be tougher and that his journey toward an Olympic gold medal here would not be easy.
“This is just one victory, it’s still a long way to go,” said Mark, the 19-year-old Panabo City pug shortly after his 17-7 triumph over Italy’s Manual Cappai in the first round of their men’s boxing’s light flyweight match on Monday. His triumph was witnessed by his parents, Edgar and Melita, whom Barriga credited for inspiring him to do his best in his Olympic debut.
Photo by Murad Sezer, Reuters #GoTeamPHpic.twitter.com/dNdsBkEP
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