FILIPINO boxer Carlo Paalam gave it all on Friday only to walk away on the wrong side of a highly controversial 2-3 split decision to hometown bet Rui Yamaguchi of Japan in the men's 55kg final of the 2026 Asian Games.
Fighting before a partisan Japanese crowd, the pride of Cagayan de Oro immediately found himself buried in a deep hole on the scorecards after four of the five ringside judges handed the opening round to the home bet.
The uphill climb grew even steeper in the second frame after the Japanese fighter took 3-2 split on the cards, pushing the Filipino Olympian to the brink of defeat.
Aware that he was trailing on the scorecards heading into the final three minutes, a desperate Paalam emptied his tank in the third and final frame in blistering barrage to sweep all five judges' cards via unanimous 10-9 scores.
However, his furious third-round onslaught fell agonizingly short when the final tallies were read.
While Judge 1 Jovana Ugrenovic of Serbia and Judge 2 Gintaras Sniuksta of Lithuania scored the bout in favor of Paalam at 29-28 and 30-27, respectively, it was not enough to overturn the tide.
Judges 3 Giovanni Garcia Giron of Guatemala, Judge 4 Osama Hanafy of Egypt, and Judge 5 Sarra Bouhlel of Tunisia all submitted identical 29-28 scorecards for Yamaguchi to hand the Japanese pugilist the gold medal.
Shortly after stepping through the ropes, a visibly frustrated Paalam did not mince words and admitted that constant interruptions from Uzbek referee Maruf Urdushev repeatedly killed his rhythm whenever he gained momentum.
"I'm so good, but referee again, I don't know, not a good decision — hindi ko alam ang desisyon ng referee po palagi, ako palagi tinitingnan," Paalam lamented.
"Kahit anong momentum, ini-stop pa rin po, tapos iba talaga yung referee rin... yung referee talaga parang ako palagi nakikita," the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist added.
Forced to hunt for a decisive finish in the final stanza, Paalam went for broke but rued that his destiny was ultimately left out of his hands.
"Gawin ko yung best ko, pilit na lang 'yung last round kasi kukunin ko na yung last round— wala na po eh, ubos-ubos na talaga," he shared.
"Nandoon naman lahat yung improvement ko eh, yung sabi ko nga, 'Di namin hawak yung desisyon.' Kahit anong pilit mo manalo ka, kung judges talaga gagawa sa 'yo ng paraan, wala ring silbi," Paalam pointed out.
National coach Ronald Chavez echoed his prized ward's sentiments.
"Sa laban hindi man tayo agrabyado, kaya lang doon talaga tayo madadali sa referee, sa judge — sa referee parang pinag-initan," Chavez explained.
"Sa first round nga akala ko lalamang pa tayo eh, kaya sabi ko alanganin na 'to, ito na gawin natin, wala tayong gagawin na iba kundi pag hindi mo ma-knock out 'yan, kahit anong gagawin natin," the veteran coach said.
"Nakita mo nga na pag tumama si Carlo parang inis-stop ng referee, kung anong kini-question ng referee — dapat 'yung blue ang ano, pero si Carlo ang pinag-iinitan lagi," Chavez added in frustration.
The battle-tested Paalam said he plans to take a brief breather before getting right back into the grind, keeping the door wide open for a potential redemption tour at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"Hindi maganda, pero okay lang po, move forward po tayo; gawin pa rin 'yung best po, training pa rin, tsaka pahinga muna," Paalam concluded.
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