TOKYO - Flyweight Carlo Paalam opened his Tokyo Olympic campaign with both fists blazing, dominating Ireland's Brendan Irvine on Monday to advance to the Round of 16 of the boxing competitions at the Kokugikan Arena.
The 23-year old Bukidnon native charged out of his corner the moment he heard the opening bell and never once let up, doing enough to put away the 4-1 split decision over the taller but outclassed Irishman.
"Kahit dikit po ang laban, binuhos ko lahat ng natitira sa akin," said Paalam, a gold medalist in the light-flyweight class after keeping Philippine boxers unbeaten three matches into the competition.

The victory set up Paalam for a round-of-16 match against Algeria's Mohamed Flissi, who drew an opening bye on the strength of his No. 4 seeding. The match will be fought on July 31 (Saturday).
Four more wins to the gold
Paalam hardly looked fazed by the Olympic spotlight as he came out charging from his corner and immediately rocked Irvine with snappy one-two combinations and a big right near the end of the first round.
The Filipino pug got the nod of all five judges under the 10-point must system but paid for the aggressive effort in the second, where he appeared to lose wind and allowed the Irishman to make it a contest.
"Magaling, matangkad po, at magaling pa mag-distansya," Paalam said of Irvine. "Second round, nabasa n’ya laro ko kaya third round, binuhos ko na talaga."
The third was a slambang affair, with both fighters throwing everything they got knowing the match was still for the taking.
Paalam, however, wasn't ready to bid goodbye.
"Nakita nyo naman, pagod na pagod na pero suntok ng suntok pa rin. Gusto kong manalo po, para sa pamilya at sa team po," he told reporters later.
"Sa haba ng training, tatalunin ka lang? So buhos-buhos ko na lahat."
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