Thursday, August 07, 2008 Velasco to Tañamor: Sharpen counter attack
BAGO City's Roel Velasco, the 1992 Barcelona Olympics bronze medalist, has one important advice for lightfly Harry Tañamor when he faces Chinese top seed Zou Shiming in the Beijing Olympics that kicks off Thursday.
"I told Harry to execute sharp counter attacks against the Chinese hometown bet so he can offset Zou's hit-and-run tactics. I also advised him to start strong and not to allow his opponent to dictate the tempo of the fight so that the Chinese will be frustrated early," said Velasco, who now coaches the RP women's boxing team.
"I want to assure those who don't seem to believe in Harry that he has the skills, the heart and the desire to bring home that elusive Olympic gold medal, so I ask everyone to pray for him," the Negrense added.
Velasco told Sun.Star Bacolod in a telephone interview Wednesday that he and younger brother Mansueto "Onyok" Jr., both believe that Tañamor has what it takes to bring home a medal in this year's Olympics.
"I just hope the luck of the draw will also favor Harry because this is something we can't control. He must avoid meeting Zou in the early rounds as much as possible," Velasco emphasized. "Malaking bagay para sa atin pag nakakuha si Harry ng magandang draw."
Aside from the Chinese bet, Tañamor is also expected to keep an eye on the likes of World number 1 David Ayrapetyan of Russia, Patrick Barnes of Ireland, Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan, Algeria's Nordine Oubaali, Lucasz Maszcyk of Poland, and Ssherali Dostiyev of Tajikistan, among others, Velasco said.
Tañamor, the country's lone boxing entry in this year's summer games, took the silver medal behind Zou during last year's Aiba (International Amateur Boxing Federation) World Championships in Chicago, which served as qualifying event for the Beijing Olympiad, losing to the mobile Chinese in the finals on points, 17-3. (HCV)
