Carlo Paalam ends Asian Games boxing campaign with silver medal

Filipino boxing superstar Carlo Paalam wrapped up his 20th Asian Games stint with a silver medal after falling to home bet Rui Yamaguchi in the final by a 3-2 split decision on Oct. 2, 2026, at Nishio Gymnasium in Japan.

It was so close yet so far for the PHL’s representative in the men’s 55-kilogram weight division.

After losing the first two rounds by a narrow margin, Paalam flipped the switch and emptied his tank in the third and final round but still fell short of swaying three of the official ringside judges.

Both fighters were immediately warned twice for passivity as they measured each other’s hitting distance and read each other’s head and foot movement tendencies.

The official action kicked off at the 1:25 mark, with Yamaguchi drawing first blood with clinical jabs every time Paalam ducked under in an attempt to cut the distance.

Paalam answered back with counterpunches, but Yamaguchi closed the opener with another series of jabs to put pressure on the Filipino pugilist with a 4-1 lead on the scorecards.

The ensuing round produced a controversial result after Paalam landed the cleaner punches, tagging Yamaguchi with a massive overhand right midway through the round and a well-calculated left hook in the final 25 seconds.

However, Yamaguchi’s work rate and consistent jabs proved to be enough for another win on the scorecards, nabbing a surprising 3-2 Round 2 edge that left Paalam with no option but to let his hands go in the final frame.

Paalam did exactly what he was supposed to do as a challenger playing catch-up, stalking Yamaguchi from the get-go while intensifying his offense with a barrage of jabs.

Aside from going all-in in the stand-up exchange, Paalam also targeted Yamaguchi’s body in hopes of slowing him down, but the Japanese champion wisely backpedaled, knowing that he could afford to lose the round because of the comfortable lead he had built in the first two rounds.

Paalam swept the third round with a 5-0 score, but Yamaguchi still earned the nods of the majority of the judges en route to a title-clinching 3-2 victory.

During the tense announcement, three of the judges scored the bout in favor of Yamaguchi, 29-28, while the other two had it for Paalam, 29-28 and 30-27.

Despite failing to clinch gold, Paalam’s silver-medal finish was still one of the best campaigns by a Filipino in the quadrennial meet, replicating Eumir Marcial’s achievement during the 2022 Hangzhou edition.

Buo ang puso at loob! Mabuhay ka, Carlo!