Flyweight boxer Somjit Jongjohor of Thailand has defeated Vincenzo Picardi of Italy with 7-1 points in the Beijing Games semifinal, paving his way to the final against Cuba’s Andris Laffita Hernandez on August 23.

The two boxers were already familiar with each others before the Olympic event as veteran Somjit beat Picardi in the world championship flyweight semifinal in Chicago with 13-2 points.

In the first round of the Beijing Games semifinal, Picardi started an aggressive game with flurries of punches but Somjit was able to counter his strikes and hit back the Italian on his torso and face, leading the fight with scores of 2-1 at the end of the round.

Somjit became more accurate in the middle of the second round and received two more points from a combination of hits. He even showed more superior skills in the third round leaving Picardi far behind with 7-1 points.

In the fourth round, the confident Thai boxer chose to play defensively and concentrate on disrupting the moves of his opponent. The match ended with Somjit as the winner with the 7-1 points.

Somjit is now guaranteed either a gold or silver medal, depending on whether he would be able to beat Cuba’s Andris Laffita Hernandez in the final on August 23 at 6 p.m. Thai time. The Cuban boxer narrowly defeated Russia’s Georgy Balakshin by 9-8 scores, with the Cuban scoring his ninth point in the last two second of the match.    

News: Manager