The past week was another busy one for the world of Philippine sports, especially with Olympic wonder boy Carlos Yulo returning to competition after his memorable Olympiad last year. Some of the country’s pugilists also made headlines in one way or the other. Take a look at these stories that you might have missed:
Carlos Yulo Nets Gold, Bronze at Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships
Olympic double-gold medalist Carlos Yulo reminded Asia of his world-class gymnastics talent by netting one gold and three bronze medals at the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships. The pride of Manila scored 14.600 in his floor routine—with a 5.7 difficulty score and 8.8 in execution—to stamp his class in the eight-man field. Karimi Milad of Kazakhstan bagged silver while Moon Geonyoung of South Korea copped bronze.
Yulo also won bronze in the individual all-around topped by Shinnosuke Oka and Tsuyoshi Hasegawa of Japan. The 25-year-old Olympian also bagged bronze in the vault (behind Iranian Mahdi Olfati and Chinese Huang Mingqi) and in parallel bars (behind Oka and another Japanese, Tomoharu Tsunoghai). With his four-medal haul, Carlos Yulo also secured a ticket to the World Championships in October.
Charly Suarez vs. Emanuel Navarrete Officially Declared a No-Contest
The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has officially declared the Charly Suarez-Emanuel Navarrete title match, which ended in controversial fashion in favor of the Mexican, as a no-contest. Suarez and Navarrete engaged in a thrilling back-and-forth for the WBO junior lightweight crown in May, with Navarrete getting a unanimous decision victory after the fight was called off to start the eighth round due to a big gash the Mexican sustained.
Replays clearly showed Suarez causing the cut with a punch, but referee Edward Collantes ruled it as being caused by an accidental headbutt, leading to the technical decision. Suarez and his team then filed an appeal to the CSAC contesting the unfavorable ruling. A month later, the CSAC came up with its decision and has also ordered an immediate rematch between Suarez and Navarrete.
Rain or Shine Guard Felix Lemetti Out for the Season After Hand Injury
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters guard Felix Lemetti will be out of commission for the rest of the 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup after he fractured his left hand during practice. Prior to his injury, the 6-foot-2 rookie had been averaging 6.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for the Elasto Painters, who are headed to playoffs once again.
Lemetti, naturally, was disheartened by this unfortunate turn of events, telling reporters “it’s tough that it ended right here.” But the young guard, who was looking forward to excelling in the playoffs, acknowledged that his untimely injury would give him time to process the lessons he has learned in Season 49 and set him up for the next conference.
Eumir Marcial Confirmed for Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios Undercard, Mark Magsayo and Jerwin Ancajas Also in the Mix
Olympian Eumir Marcial will be resuming his pro career when he fights American Alexis Gaytan in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios WBC welterweight title match. Marcial last fought professionally in March 2024 when he stopped Thoedsak Sinam at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. He is 5-0 with 3 KOs.
Two other Filipino fighters—Jerwin Ancajas and Mark Magsayo—are also being targeted to fight in the Pacquiao-Barrios undercard. Both Ancajas and Magsayo are former world champions, with the former reigning as the IBF super-flyweight champion from 2016 to 2022 and the latter once winning the WBC featherweight plum from Gary Russell in an upset. Magsayo, however, lost the crown in his first defense against Rey Vargas.
