ADVERTISEMENTCarlo Paalam was just a thin nine-year-old when he chanced upon a neighbor setting up boxing exercises. After hearing mass in Cagayan de Oro, Paalam was enticed to try boxing when his neighbor told him to just spar with his son and the winner would get a bottle of Coke. Now, Paalam is on his way to the Olympics for a chance to give the country an elusive gold medal. “It was after church then when I got home I saw my neighbor, who was a boxer, boxing and training his son,” said Paalam in Filipino. P120 prize money“My neighbor saw that I had guts inside the ring even though I had blood running down my face,” said Paalam.

Source: The Star July 17, 2021 14:37 UTC