Barriga beats Italian foe,
advances to round of 16

Unleashing punches that reminded spectators of the young Manuel “Onyok” Velasco at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, lone Filipino boxer Mark Anthony Barriga outscored Italian Manuel Cappai, 17-7, in his opening bout in the light flyweight (49kg) division last night in the 2012 London Games.

The 19-year-old Davaoeño stamped his class over his taller Italian foe as he dominated the three-round fight with an astounding 5-2 card in round one, 4-2, in second, and 8-3 in the final round.

Cappai tried to box defensively in the second round but Barriga managed to get in some of his overhead punches to register more points in the judges' score cards.