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It’s Cappai who says “arrivederci”

Fears of Filipino boxing fans that little Mark Anthony Barriga would be saying "arrivederci" or farewell at the end of his round of 32 bout against Italy's Manuel Fabrizio Cappai at the London Olympic Games were quickly doused by the pugnacious Barriga, who stamped his class with a rousing 17-7 win before a cheering crowd led by a handful of Filipino supporters at the ExCel arena, Tuesday night, Manila Time.

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Ricky Vargas, who followed the live coverage on AKTV IBC 13, was overjoyed with the performance of the five-foot dynamo from Davao.

He put it succinctly: "See what a courageous heart can do. Perfect execution by an intelligent fighter."

Vargas noted that people "tend to underestimate Barriga but he is a very intelligent fighter. I am really happy for him and for our country."

The International Amateur Boxing Association or AIBA was full of praise for Barriga, referring to him as "the Philippines' new boxing sensation" pointing out that the two-time Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament winner is "really making a name for himself after defeating world-class rivals in recent months and impressing at the London 2012 Olympic Games."

AIBA noted that Barriga's sensational victory against the promising Cappai has made the rest of the competition stand up and take notice of his talent."

Barriga was in fact part of the AIBA "Road to London" program where the report recalled that "he trained hard and amazed his various sparring partners with his tenacity and now he is ready to challenge the current order and bid for an Olympic medal."

The 19-year-old Barriga overcame the four-inch height advantage of fellow 19-year-old Cappai, the bronze medalist in the European qualifiers, with his speed and effective counter-punches that often rocked the head of his opponent right back.

Cappai, who was described in pre-fight reports as an "Italian rising star maturing fast at this level" had no answer for the skill of Barriga, who was clearly the crowd favorite.

Barriga will clash with tough Kazakhstan fighter Birzhan Zhakypov, who edged Jeremy Beccu of France 18-17 on August 4 in a battle for a quarterfinals berth.

Zhakypov won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Amateur Championships and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he lost to top favorite and gold medal winner Zou Shiming 4-9. He was also beaten by the Chinese superstar in the finals of the 2010 Asian Games.

Barriga caught Cappai with two good lefts early in the opening round that surprised the Italian, who was booed for his rough tactics against the little Filipino.

Barriga nailed Carrai with a perfect right counter that dropped Carrai but the referee ruled it a slip . However, the referee made amends a short while later when he gave Carrai a standing eight count after Barriga tagged the Italian with a solid left that enabled him to take the round 5-2.

Barriga appeared a little more cautious in round two but his left kept finding its mark while occasional combinations rattled Cappai who had no answer to the ring savvy of the Filipino, whose counter right proved to be a telling factor against the Italian, who often switched to the southpaw stance with no success.

A frustrated Cappai hit Barriga at the back of the head and was cautioned by the referee while the crowd booed loudly.

Another solid right by Barriga enabled him to take the second round by a 4-2 margin that pushed his lead to a comfortable 9-4 going into the third and final round.

His confidence growing, the lone Filipino entry in the Olympic boxing event started the final round with two good lefts followed by a right but was cautioned for hitting with the inside of the glove.

Barriga sneaked in a left against the bewildered Italian and then connected with a right to the side of the head that took the sting out of the European hopeful.

Rather than sit back and rela,x Barriga picked up the tempo and went after Cappai and caught him with a left-right combination but had to take a timeout to adjust his headgear that broke the momentum of his attack..

Two rapid fire lefts by the Filipino saw Cappai holding, but it didn't bother Barriga who went on to score a big 17-7 win.

He raced to his corner and embraced a joyous coach and Barcelona Olympic bronze medalist Roel Velasco.

Barriga is the first among eleven athletes competing in the Games from the Philippines who has advanced to the next round of competition which, in the midst of a 16-year medal drought, provides a glimmer of hope in a sport where most of the country's medals in the Olympics have come from.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.