The Philippine boxing team, with up-and-coming Clark Vicera and Olympian Carlo Paalam leading the way, is hitting its stride at exactly the right time.
The Filipinos returned from back-to-back tournaments in Serbia and the Netherlands with four gold medals and a bronze—a haul that sends a clear message heading into the 2026 Asian Games in September. Clark Vicera and Carlo Paalam led the charge, with Riza Pasuit adding a gold of her own in what amounted to a confidence-boosting European swing for the national program.
Clark Vicera Shows He’s the Real Deal
Vicera was the standout of the trip. In Belgrade, he opened the 63rd Belgrade Winner Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Tournament with a unanimous decision win over 2024 Youth World Boxing Championships bronze medalist Dias Berikbay of Kazakhstan, then followed up with victories over Ibrahim Aljohani of Saudi Arabia and Nurzat Ongarov of Kazakhstan before claiming the men’s 50kg gold with a 4-1 split decision over Salih Samet Oruc of Turkiye. He then crossed the border to the Netherlands and kept rolling—beating Ruslan Bednychenko of Ukraine to claim the same weight category at the Eindhoven Box Cup.
Two tournaments. Two golds. Same weight class. Vicera arrived in Europe with something to prove. He proved it twice.
Riza Pasuit Building Momentum
Pasuit was equally dominant in Serbia. The Filipino women’s standout entered the women’s 57kg bracket in the quarterfinals and never dropped a scorecard—rolling through Victoria Vergos of Canada and Areti Stergiou of Greece with unanimous decision wins before edging Ece Asude Ediz of Turkiye in the gold-medal bout. Clean. Clinical. Unblemished.
Paul Julyfer Bascon rounded out the Serbian campaign with a bronze medal in the men’s 60kg division.
Carlo Paalam Delivers Again
In the Netherlands, Paalam—the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist—delivered the trip’s signature performance. The Filipino southpaw navigated his way through the men’s 55kg draw at the Eindhoven Box Cup and produced a stunning 4-1 split decision win over 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist Billal Bennama of France in the semifinals before claiming the gold against Abdul Burton of England.
Beating an Olympic silver medalist in the semis and walking away with gold. That is championship pedigree on display.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Marcus Manalo did not hide his satisfaction.
“This is a sign that we’re heading in the right direction as we look forward to the upcoming Asian Games in September,” Manalo said.
Four golds. One bronze. Two countries. And a team that is peaking at exactly the right moment.
