CAGAYAN DE ORRO CITY — Many thought Carlo Paalam was nearing the conclusion of his amateur career after a tough quarterfinal exit at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Instead, the Cagayan de Oro boxing star has returned to international competition with a renewed focus on securing a third Olympic appearance at Los Angeles in 2028.
A Dominant Tournament Performance
The 27-year-old boxer announced his return on May 25, 2026, by capturing the gold medal at the Eindhoven Box Cup held at the Van der Valk Hotel in the Netherlands. Paalam defeated England’s Abdul-Rahman Burton by a unanimous 5-0 decision in the under-55kg weight class final.
Paalam earned his place in the finals following a split-decision victory over Billal Bennama of France in the semifinal round. Bennama was the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist.
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The gold-medal run impressed the Philippine athletic delegation, including long-time trainer Elmer Pamisa. Pamisa has trained Paalam since his early grassroots competitions in Cagayan de Oro, helping guide him to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
"His performance was so impressive. He is so determined this time around," Pamisa said.
The Road to Los Angeles 2028
Pamisa confirmed that regional training and strategic routines for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics are already underway. The national sports program plans to send athletes to several major international qualifiers over the next two years.
According to Pamisa, Paalam has moved past his controversial split-decision loss to Australia’s Charlie Senior during the Paris Olympic quarterfinals. However, the veteran coach maintained that the scoring should have favored the Filipino fighter.
"I called it controversial. Paalam threw a lot of solid punches, but the judges gave him otherwise," Pamisa stated.
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The tournament setback has served as motivation. With international training camps scheduled and the Asian Games coming up in September as an immediate goal, Pamisa noted that the boxer remains highly disciplined. Following the gold-medal victory in the Netherlands, Paalam's bid for a third Olympic podium finishes has officially begun.
