Athens Games gold medalist Manus Boonjumnong beats Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo in the light welterweight semifinal of the Beijing Games with 10-5 points, earning himself a chance to claim the second Olympic gold medal if he is able to defeat Diaz Felix of the Dominican Republic on August 23.

In the semifinal bout of Manus and Iglesias on August 22, the Cuban made an aggressive move and scored the first point with a right punch on Manus’s face. The Thai fighter remained calm and played defensively until he found his chances to successfully hit the Cuban fighter with a right hook and a right cross, both landing on Iglesias’s face. The first round ended with the Thai boxer leading the scoring by 2-1 points.

Flyweight boxer Somjit Jongjohor of Thailand is confident he would be able to win the Beijing Games semifinal against Italy’s Vincenzo Picardi who he had defeated earlier at the world championship.

Thai boxer Somjit Jongjohor has beat Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan in the Beijing Games quarterfinal on August 20. Somjit said his coaches had accurately predicted that Yunusov would divert from his usual style and fight more defensively than his earlier two matches against the Thai fighter.

Somjit said he decided to make an aggressive move when the fight was stalled in the first round but became more comfortable and confident after he received the first point. The Thai boxer won by an 8-1 score, earning himself a spot in the semifinal against Vincenzo Picardi of Italy.

Thai boxing manager General Taweep Jantararoj has questioned the neutrality of the Beijing Games boxing judges and a particular referee, claiming three unnamed individuals have attempted to manipulate the matches against Thai boxers.

General Taweep Jantararoj, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand (ABAT), said he questioned the neutrality of the judges of the light flyweight quarterfinal match of Thailand’s Amnat Ruenroeng and Mongolia’s Serdamba Pirevdorj on August 19.

The ABAT chief said he at first believed the management under the leadership of International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) President Wu Ching-Kuo would be able to increase the transparency of the scoring system until he found some “anomalies” with the scoring of matches with Thai boxers including the light flyweight quarterfinal where the judges did not give scores for Amnat’s visible hits on Pirevdorj.

The general said he requested the AIBA to allow the boxing managers to approve the selection of the judges beforehand, but Wu, who insisted the current system was transparent, declined and suggested that such practice could lead to lobbying.

South Korean boxer Baik Jongsub who defeated Thailand’s Pichai Sayota in the lightweight round of 16 has withdrawn from the Beijing Games due to life-threatening respiratory complications.

Baik was scheduled to fight Hrachik Javakhyan of Armenia in a quarterfinal on Tuesday August 19, but the doctors warned the match could be lethal as he was having problems with the respiratory system.

The South Korean, who defeated Thai boxer Pichai on August 15, has had the illness for some time. His coach told a South Korean press agency that Paik has decided not to continue with the bout after he found from doctors of the boxing team and a local hospital that the fight could endanger his life.

The South Korean coach said the complications suffered by the 28-year-old boxer is believed to have caused by a strike in the previous round that has resulted in air in the blood circulation system.

“Baik wanted to continue to fight, but we absolutely prohibit him,” said the coach.