BY CHRISTINE MONCADA

BANTAMWEIGHT Joan Tipon worked the mitts with Cuban coach Dagoberto Scot yesterday at the boxing gym at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex as the reigning Asian Games champion toned down after another hard day of training in preparation for the second Asian Olympic qualifying tournament next week in Kazakhstan.

Unlike three of his teammates in the five-man national boxing team competing in the Astana slugfest set March 16-24, all that Tipon needs is to reach the semifinals to assure himself of a slot in the Beijing Olympics in August. He, like the rest, is raring to go.

The same is true of flyweight Godfrey Castro, who was tapped to take the over slot of Violito Payla, another Asian Games gold medalist, who was bumped off the team due to a shoulder injury sustained while training in Baguio City.

Coach Pat Gaspi said the top three boxers in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions will earn outright slots to the Beijing Games.

"Ang Top Three boxers sa weight category nila ay mabibigyan agad ng slot sa Olympics. Meaning kahit bronze lang ang makuha pasok na, kaya malaki ang chance nila," Gaspi told Malaya.

Tipon, 25, is trying to earn an Olympic berth for the third time. He flubbed the test in the World Championship in Chicago last year and the first Asian Olympic qualifying event in Bangkok, Thailand, last month.

Castro, 22, making his debut in the qualifier, said he expects a tough outing.

"Mahirap ang laban," he said, "pero sana mapaganda ang bracket ko."

Orlando Tacuyan Jr., who will compete in the featherweight division, and Basadre, a lightweight, must reach the finals to clinch Olympic slots. Delfin Boholst, competing in the light welterweight class, must win the gold to qualify for the Beijing Games set Aug. 8-24.

The PLDT-Smart RP team leaves at 11 a.m. today for Astana and will have at least four days to acclimatize to the freezing weather, according to Gaspi.

The Philippines’ top rival in Southeast Asia, Thailand, has already clinched eight Olympic slots and is no longer considered a threat to Pinoy pugs’ bid. But Gaspi stressed Tipon and Company still face rough sailing, especially against entries from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Korea.

"Hindi na natin gaanong problema ang Thailand because most of their boxers have already qualified for the Beijing Games. Konti na lang ang sagabal pero sa tingin ko kaya naman sila ng mga boxers natin," Gaspi said.

"Medyo problema din ang weather kasi negative daw ang temperature ngayon (in Kazakhstan) pero gumagawa naman kami ng paraan," he added.