Photo from instagram.com/elpams_pamisa

Eljay Pamisa bagged the silver medal after suffering a loss to Uzbek boxer Abduvali Buriboev on a 2-3 close split decision (SD) in the men’s youth bantamweight finals of the 2022 Asian Confederation Boxing Championships (ASBC) Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships held at the Al Hussein Sports City in Amman, Jordan on March 14.

The ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships gathered 355 competitors hailed from 21 different countries. Boxers born in 2004 and 2005 are eligible to participate in the youth category, while those born during 2006 and 2007 could partake in the junior classification.

The young rising boxing star started feebly after narrowly beating Kyrgyz Chomonov Askatbek in the preliminary stage with a 3-2 result on the second day of the tournament.

The 17-year old Filipino amateur youth boxer outboxed the host country's Habeeblibzo and Nima Beygi of Iran with a unanimous decision in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. He unleashed his powerful counter-attacks and excellent footwork to uppercut his Asian Youth championship campaign and advance to the gold medal bout of the event for fighters who belong in the 54kg weight class.

He became scheduled to share the ring with the boxer from Uzbekistan after Buriboev's win in his protest when he lost to India's Anand Yadav in the thrilling semis with an SD.

Pamisa tried his best to hook the gold medal in the championship round, but Buriboev preponderated to emerge as the champion for the bantamweight division.

The Cagayan De Oro native’s settlement for silver was a repeated feat for him after winning the second spot in the junior category when he still fights in the 46kg in Al Fujairah, United Arab Emirates in 2019.

Yadav and Beygi both finished third place after they failed to reach the final match of the Asian Youth Championships.

Other Filipino representatives who showcased their boxing prowess in the event are junior fighters Robert Malunoc Jr., Justine Valero, and Van Hendriche Abing, who competed in the 46kg, 48kg, and 50kg, respectively. Also, youth boxers Reymond Lofranco and John Wayne Vicera, who fought in the minimumweight and flyweight, respectively.

The two-time silver medalist strives to finally clinch the gold medal in the next year’s edition of the ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships.