Olympic Boxing: The Barriga Incident

Of all the Filipino athletes in London, it was only Mark Anthony Barriga who even managed to give the Pinoys a glimmer of hope. After all, Barriga qualified on his own merit and he's a boxer, where we've had some success (most of our Olympic medals came from boxing)

And, faced with a familiar foe in Birzhan Zhakypov from Kazakhstan, Barriga seemed confident that he had things under control, despite his obvious height and reach disadvantage.


Of course, we all know what happens next. Barriga loses 16-17, after the Canadian referee Roland Labbe penalized him two points for headbutting.

Understandably, the Philippine contingent lodged a complaint which was rejected because it was "emotional" and the match was "too subjective" to review. Which brings us back to how Barriga came to be in this situation.

1) Barriga ran out of gas. The first round went to Zhakypov 5-4 but from the way the conversation went in Barriga's corner, I think  Barriga and his coaches thought Zhakypov's lead was larger. Which led to Barriga coming out firing from all cylinders in the second. He took command of the fight with a 6-3 round. In the third, it was obvious that Barriga was tired as he came out gasping.
2) Zhakypov turned wrestler. I think this is where Barriga's youth betrayed him. After being wrestled to the ground twice, Barriga started letting his frustration show. He kept moving his head around in the clinch and even tried to prop up Zhakypov's chin with his head, which may have led to the "headbutting" charge.
3) Barriga did not dominate. Barriga was largely ineffective in the first round, getting tagged each time he came in close. It actually surprised me that the score was that close. But the second round was masterful for Barriga. He rocked Zhakypov twice with hard lefts and could have finished the job had he pursued the Kazakh more aggressively. The third round was a a tactical masterpiece for Zhakypov. He got in a punch or two then wrestled Barriga to prevent him from counterattacking. He got into Barriga's head and got him off his game.

Still, I had Barriga winning by a point. And then...
4) The fateful 2point deduction. Labbe penalized Barriga for headbutting. I think he saw Barriga moving his head around, trying to get away from Zhakypov's bear hug and misinterpreted it as Barriga trying to rub his helmet against Zhakypov in an effort to open up a head wound. Thus the point deduction and then the loss.

Who to blame then? No one. Barriga did us proud with his courage and technical skill. Experience comes with time and the boy is 19years old. He can only get better. His coaches prepared him well, he got back into the game, after a lackluster 1st round.

so don't despair, Philippines. I think we'll be seeing Mr. Barriga in Rio 2016.