Successful boxers have been coming out of the Philippines since Spanish presence, and Rogen Ladon is no exception. Born November 10, 1993, for Ladon, boxing runs in the family as his brother, Joegin Ladon, is also an international boxer. Rogen first took up boxing in 2007 and within a year, he won a bronze medal in a national championship in the 46kg category. He returned a year later to take the gold in the same weight class. Spurred on by that success, he then entered intensive training programs to prepare himself for the Hong Kong International Championship. All the hard work paid off when he walked away with gold in 2011, having matured and bulked up to 49 kilos. His winning streak continued the following year as he won first place in the Taipei City Cup with a KO in the third round of the quarterfinal against Chiu Po Wei (TPE) followed by a win against Huynh Ngoc Tan (VIE) in the semis (11:6). In the final bout, he faced off against Kenshiro Teraji (JPN), with a final score of 19:10. With those wins under his belt, his fitness and confidence soared and he entered several competitions over the next few years in his bid to go to the World Championships. In 2013, his most successful championship was on home turf in the Filipino National Games where he beat compatriot Bernardo Joerines WO in the final to take the gold. He seemed to be on track and his matches started appearing on worldwide competition boards as he started to emerge from obscurity. However, this year, other championships weren’t quite as successful as he only managed to rank 5th in the ASBC Asian Continental Championships in Jordan after he lost 2:0 to Kazakhstani Temirtas Zhusupov in the quarterfinal. He then came in 6th in the Korotkov Memorial Tournament in Russia after losing to Indian Thokchom Singh in the quarterfinal. Bowing out again in the quarterfinal, he finished 7th in the Sidney Jackson Memorial Tournament in Uzbekistan after losing 2:1 to Komol Meliyev. In 2014, the heat was on to step it up and Rogen really pushed himself. In the Lion’s Cup in Sri Lanka, he managed a third-place spot after losing to Eranga Madushan S.P. Gamage (SRI) in the semis, but once again, proving his worth on home turf after coming in second place in the Filipino Box-offs of the Asian Games. As the tensions increased, so did input from coaches Pat Gespi and Nolito Velasco, who guided him through the tumultuous ups and downs of the next two years. For most of 2015, Ladon was on form, fighting in major international championships with sound results. He came in second in both the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok and the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore. However, it was his bronze in the AIBA World Boxing Championships was the pivotal moment, though, as it meant that he missed out on qualifying for the Rio Olympics. His grief was palpable and he burst into tears. Then, just five months later at the Tangshan Sports Centre, tears of sadness were replaced by those of joy as his positioning in the AIBA Asian/Oceanian Qualifying Event meant that he had earned himself a place on the Olympic berth. Sadly, this high was followed by a second-round loss to Zhomart Yerzhan in the AIBA World Boxing Championships, but a bronze in the 2017 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships means that his Olympic career is far from over. But it’s safe to say, we can all look forward to future calm but impassioned fighting from the Pinoy pug, ranked number three in the world.
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