Paalam stunned by Australian foe in tightly contested Olympic quarterfinal clash

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Carlo Paalam suffered a shocking loss in the men’s featherweight category of the Paris Olympics boxing event following a 3-2 split decision victory by Australia’s Charlie Senior on August 3, 2024, at the North Paris Arena.

With the loss, Paalam crashed out of the Paris Olympics and officially ended his gold medal campaign, ending his stint in this year’s edition of the Global games with a quarterfinal finish.

Paalam, who everybody thought would get his hands raised after landing the more significant punches in the deciding third round, fell at the decision of the judges when they scored the last frame in favor of Senior, 3-2.

It was a leveled playing field in the first two rounds as Paalam notched the opener via a 3-2 decision while the Australian bounced back to get the same scoring results in the second round.

Everything went down to the wire during the third and final round, with Paalam kicking things off with a high-octane attack that surprised the Australian.

During the first two rounds, it was Senior who was always moving forward, deploying the pressure to cut off Paalam’s desired hitting distance.

However, in the round where everything was put on the line, Paalam switched his strategy and stalked Senior since the official third-round bell rang.

Paalam backstopped his constant pressure with a load of efficient punches, landing several right straights while also connecting on his 1-2 combinations.

The Filipino pug then grabbed another set of scores after landing punches on the backfoot in the final minute of the round and followed it up with another snappy left jab.

To the surprise of the PHL delegation, the ring announcer called Senior’s name as the winner and will be the one who will advance to the medal rounds of the Paris Olympics men’s boxing event.