Veteran Olympian Harry Tanamor?s amazing run at the World Boxing Championships came to a halt in the finals of the World Boxing Championships at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavlion in Chicago when he was overwhelmed by China?s Zou Shiming in the finals and had to settle for a silver medal yesterday.
Zou Shiming started cautiously to edge Tanamor 3-1 in the opening round and led 6-1 at the halfway mark preventing the Filipino from scoring a point in the second round before really putting on the heat to run away with the third 7-1 for an insurmountable 13-2 lead going into the final two minutes.
Although Tanamor tried his best even as a small band of Filipinos cheered him on it was clear that Zou Shiming was the superior boxer and won handily 17-3.
Tanamor was not allowed by the sweet-punching Chinese star to duplicate his rousing 16-8 win over Thailand?s Amnat Ruenroeng in the semi finals. Earlier Tanamor clinched an Olympic berth when he entered the quarter finals by the narrowest of margins against old rival Sherali Dostiev and then stamped his class with a 17-7 thrashing of fancied American Luis Yanez .
Tanamor represented the Philippines at both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic Games where he was picked by the prestigious Sports Illustrated magazine to enter the medal round but failed, losing to South Korea?s Hong Moo Won in the round of sixteen.
A two-time bronze medal winner at the World Championships in Ireland in 2001 and Thailand in 2003, Tanamor who was dropped from the Doha Asian Games squad in 2004 for disciplinary reasons could do nothing against the formidable Zou Shiming who hammered France?s Nordine Oubaali in the semi finals forcing a stoppage at 1:16 of the third round with the Chinese star ahead 21-1.
Zou won the gold medal at the 2005 World Championships and the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games where Tanamor was eliminated in the round of 32. He also won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Doha last year defeating Thai veteran Suban Pannom 21-1 in the finals.
AIBA silver medalist Harry Tanamor (R) poses with Chicago-based former Philippine national team cyclist Rolando Hiso during the World Boxing Championships in Chicago.
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