Carlo Paalam ousts world champ Makhmud Sabyrkhan, enters Asian Games gold medal bout

Carlo Paalam has punched his way to the gold medal round after beating world champion Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan in the 2026 Asian Games men’s 55kg semifinals on Wednesday in Japan.

Paalam secured a narrow 3-2 split-decision win and will shoot for glory in the finals as he looks to end the country’s boxing gold medal drought in the quadrennial tournament.

Sabyrkhan was no easy foe.

The Kazakh boxer is a 2025 World Championships gold medalist and also ruled the bantamweight division at the 2024 Asian Championships, making him a formidable opponent in the Asian Games.

The 28-year-old Paalam, a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, Asian Games bronze medalist, and two-time SEA Games gold medalist, showed exactly why he remains a force to be reckoned with as well.

The Filipino fighter came out firing from the opening bell, landing clean hooks in the first round as four judges gave him the edge at the end of the opening three-minute bout.

In the second round, Paalam sent Sabyrkhan to the canvas at the 42-second mark before landing a right straight in the final 10 seconds, though only two judges awarded him the round.

Paalam did enough to contain Sabyrkhan in the third and final round despite getting a one-point deduction. When the final bell sounded, Paalam emerged on top with a 29-27 victory over Sabyrkhan.

Paalam will look to pull off another upset in the gold medal round on Friday, where he will take on hometown bet Rui Yamaguchi of Japan.

—Bea Micaller/JKC/JMB, GMA News