Source: Manila Bulletin
Two-time Olympian Harry Tañamor, one of the most decorated amateur fighters the country has produced this decade, has been retired by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP).
The retirement became official when Tañamor was not included in the Philippine team which will compete in the China Open boxing championship which starts Saturday in Guiyang province.
Also apparently retired was fellow Olympian Violito Payla.
Tañamor had been the face of the Philippine boxing campaign since the silver medal finish of Onyok Velasco in 1996 during the Atlanta Olympics.
But the 32-year-old boxer from Zamboanga many times failed to live up to national expectations, particularly in the high-profile competition of the Olympic Games where twice – in Athens and Beijing – he performed so disastrously many experts called for his retirement.
He, however, stayed on in several more RP teams, winning a few times and losing some others, the last being the World Amateur Boxing Championship in Italy where he lost in the first round.
“We assessed his performance during and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics and we reached an agreement with him that it would be better if he retires,” said Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines executive director Ed Picson during an interview last Tuesday.
Tañamor did relatively well in last year’s Laos SEA Games, landing a silver medal, but his failure to win the gold in the event where he was the heavy favorite, was apparently the last straw.
He won two SEA Games gold (2003 and 2005) and many predicted Tañamor to be ready for the big time after retaining his bronze medal in the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championship.
He qualified to compete in the Athens Olympics after an impressive runner-up finish to Korean Hong Moo-Won. But he was knocked off in the Round of 16 by the Korean.
Despite his defeat, some still believed Tañamor had what it takes to win the country’s first Olympic gold medal.
That belief was reinforced when he settled for a runner-up finish in the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championship in Chicago. In the semis, he earned raves by beating local hero Luis Yanez but he lost to Chinese Zou Shiming in the finals.
Tañamor and Shiming were again predicted to meet in the finals of the Beijing Games.
Even the respected Sports Illustrated named the Filipino fighter as one of the favorites to win in its Olympic preview issue.
Tañamor again frustrated the whole nation when he was defeated by little-known Manyo Plange of Ghana, 6-3, in the first round.
But Tañamor kept coming back though. In the 2008 Boxing World Cup, he somehow redeemed himself with a stunning win over Cuban Yampier Hernandez to bag the gold medal.
That performance earned him a trip to the world championships where he lost in his initial outing.
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