TOKYO - Carlo Paalam was asked if he knew Shakhobidin Zoirov, the reigning Olympic, world, and Asian champion who happened to be his opponent in boxing's flyweight quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics.
Of course, he responded.
"Pinapanood ko po yung mga laban n'ya palagi sa YouTube," the 23-year old Filipino boxer responded shyly. "Bata pa lang po ako, kilala ko na yan."
Well, if Zoirov hardly knew Paalam before, he won't ever forget the Bukidnon-born fighter now after he was sent crashing out of the Tokyo Games with one of the biggest upsets in Tuesday's boxing program.
Hardly fazed by an opponent he once tried to emulate during nights when he dreamed of competing in the Olympics, Paalam beat Zoirov to the punch from the get-go and never once let up.
Paalam was so in control up until the second round that when an accidental clash of heads forced a stoppage, he was leading comfortably in the scorecards of four judges to get the split technical decision.
"Hindi ko na po ininda ‘yung tama ko eh, gusto ko na lang talaga manalo," said Paalam, who suffered a small cut in the forehead. "Magaling din po ‘yung kalaban ko eh, may experience din talaga. Sabi nga nila 50/50 daw, pero nagbigay lang ako ng tiwala sa sarili ko, at nakinig ako sa mga coaches ko."
The win assured Paalam of a medal in his first Olympics and incentives of at least P6 million both from the government and private sector for a guaranteed bronze - not bad for a former street scavenger from Cagayan de Oro.
And the good part is, the Cinderella run can still get better.
Paalam, who has beaten Ireland's Brendan Irvine and fourth seed Mohamed Flissi in the earlier rounds, will now be the slight favorite when he takes on Japan bet Ryomei Tanaka in the semifinals on August 5.
Tanaka barely got by Colombian Yuberjen Martinez Rivas in an unpopular 4-1 split decision on Tuesday.
Two more wins will reward Paalam with untold millions he had never imagined, but he's careful not to get ahead of himself. At the moment, he's focused on a dream run that, whatever happens from here, will change his life.
Forever.
"Nahirapan din po ako sa kanya dahil kaliwete siya eh, may experience, at magaling talaga," he said. "Pero sabi nga po ng Panginoon, ‘Makakaya mo, basta kasama mo ako.’"
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