CAGAYAN de Oro City — Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam secured the silver medal in the men's 55kg boxing final at the 2026 Asian Games, falling short via a narrow 2-3 split decision to host nation fighter Rui Yamaguchi at the Nishio Gymnasium.

Fighting out of the red corner, the Cagayan de Oro native fell behind early after four of the five judges awarded the opening round to Yamaguchi. The Japanese boxer maintained his narrow advantage with a 3-2 split in the second frame.

Late Rally


Trailing on the scorecards entering the final three minutes, Paalam mounted a furious third-round offensive. The Filipino swept all five judges' scorecards (10-9) in the final frame, but the late surge fell short on the cumulative tally.

Judges Jovana Ugrenovic of Serbia (29-28) and Gintaras Sniuksta of Lithuania (30-27) scored the fight for Paalam. However, judges Giovanni Garcia Giron of Guatemala, Osama Hanafy of Egypt, and Sarra Bouhlel of Tunisia handed identical 29-28 cards to Yamaguchi.

Controversial Calls


Following the bout, Paalam expressed frustration over frequent ring stoppages by Uzbek referee Maruf Urdushev, which he said repeatedly disrupted his momentum inside the ring.

"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 said after stepping out of the ring. "Kahit anong momentum, ini-stop pa rin po. Tapos iba talaga yung referee rin... Yung referee talaga parang ako palagi nakikita."

Paalam noted that forced to chase a decisive finish in the final frame, the outcome was ultimately beyond his control.

"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," Paalam 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."

National team coach Ronald Chavez echoed his fighter's sentiments, noting that the corner felt disadvantaged early by the officiating and instructed Paalam to hunt for a stoppage in the final round.

"Sa laban hindi man tayo agrabyado, kaya lang doon talaga tayo madadali sa referee, sa judge. Sa referee parang pinag-initan," Chavez said. "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-knockout 'yan, kahit anong gagawin natin. Nakita mo nga na pag tumama si Carlo parang ini-stop ng referee, kung anong kini-question ng referee. Dapat yung blue ang ano, pero si Carlo ang pinag-iinitan lagi."

Long View

Despite the outcome, Paalam remains focused on the future, taking time to recover before resuming training for upcoming international events, including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Hindi maganda, pero okay lang po, move forward po tayo," Paalam said. "Gawin pa rin yung best po, training pa rin, tsaka pahinga muna."