BANGKOK — Asian Games gold medalist Joan Tipon handily disposed of a young pretender from Pakistan and assured himself of at least bronze medal by reaching the bantamweight semifinals of the 1st AIBA Asian Boxing Olympic Qualifying tournament Monday at the at the Dhurakij Punjit University here.

More importantly, Tipon moved within a win of from achieving a dream stint in the Olympics, with the finalists in each division getting slots to the Beijing Games in August.

With no experience in big fights whatsoever, Mukammad Ali, offered nothing to threaten Tipon, who won via stoppage at the 1:30 mark of the third round (referee stopped contest-outscored), with the score at a resounding 21-1.

Tipon unleashed a flurry of punches right from the opening bell, delivering right hooks and straights the Pakistani pug seemed to just willingly absorb. Tipon took a 9-0 lead in the first round, piled up seven more points in the second while yielding a hit when Ali connected on a combination in a brief exchange in the middle.

The victory kept alive Tipon’s bid for an Olympic berth and somehow eased the pain of four teammates falling by the wayside early in the tourney while preventing what could have been a humiliating stint by the RP Smart PLDT boxing team in the first of two Asian Olympic elims.

"I’m okay," said the soft-spoken Tipon, the last man remaining from a five-man team after early exits by Violito Payla, featherweight Orlando Tacuyan Jr., lightweight Genebert Basadre and lightwelter Adam Fiel.

"If he keeps his form, he can make it to Beijing," said coach Pat Gaspi.

Standing in Tipon’s way is perhaps the most dreaded fighter in his division, Athens Olmypics silver medalist Thai Worapoj Petchkoom. The Thai pounded out a 22-10 victory over a tough Homuratov Ulugbek of Uzbekistan earlier to reach the semis.

The two rivals will meet Friday, their third encounter in the last three years.

Tipon nipped Petchkoom in a thrilling semifinal encounter in the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 that ended in a 13-all tie, with the lanky Filipino clinching the all-important win in a tiebreak.

He went on to beat Korean Han Soon Chul to capture the gold medal, the country’s second in the sport after Payla’s triumph in the flyweight division.

Petchkoom got back at Tipon in last year’s World Championships in Chicago, also an Olympic qualifier, with the Thai fighter pulling off a 13-5 decision but losing his Olympic bid when he bowed out in the second round.

"We just hope Tipon will reach peak form by Friday," said Gaspi.