Carlo Paalam's Turnaround from a Loiterer to a Boxer

Nobody stays the same way they began in life. And young boxing star, Carlo Paalam is proof of that.

Paalam, who achieved his result thus far with a gold medal finish in last year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, used to be a loiterer on the streets of Cagayan de Oro City and he revealed that before entering the boxing world, he used to do all sort of jobs just to be able to help his father who raised their family on his own after Carlo's mother left them. At the age of seven, Carlo Paalam had to stop studying and that's when his path towards becoming a boxer started as he was asked as a passerby if he wanted to try boxing by someone after Paalam was just passing by some kids who were sparring. During the Philippine Youth Games or Batang Pinoy in 2013, he won a gold medal and that made him a discovery for boxing coaches who were in Bacolod for the games. And that was just the beginning for Paalam's career as in 2014, he made it to the national and two years later, Paalam, just at the age of 17 back then, won his first match as a member of the national team during the Asian Youth in Kazakhstan which paved the way for Paalam to be able to help rebuild his family's home. From there on, Carlo Palalam was able to compete in various international competitions and yes, his biggest highlight thus far is a gold medal finish in front of the home crowd in last year's SEA Games- marking him as one of the Philippines' future stars in boxing.  

Believing that hardships should come first before relief, Paalam continuously gives thanks to his family for all the support he's been receiving and most importantly, he continuously gives thanks to his coaches, particularly Coach Elmer Pamisa who is the one who trained and guided Paalam since he was seven until now. "Hardships before relief" That is something that Carlo Paalam continues to tag along in his journey as he prepares to fight for the country and more importantly, he will fight for the gold. From a loiterer to a future boxing superstar, Carlo Paalam indeed has a bright future ahead of him inside the ring. 

Photo is from MVPSF