Rogen Ladon: A Boxer Who Used to Box with a Pair of Used Gloves

For a Filipino boxer who used to box around using a pair of used pair of gloves from his elder brother, Rogen Ladon's success story is an inspiration not just to aspiring boxers but to anyone who has a dream in life. 

And for someone who completed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio in Brazil on top of winning a gold medal in last year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here in our own soil, Ladon's story is living proof that hard work hard its rewards.

Rogen Ladon hails from Bago City in Negros Occidental. Started boxing at the age of 11, Ladon was discovered by boxing coaches after he won a gold medal during the 2009 National Open in Bacolod City and that was the beginning of Ladon's professional career as that gold medal served as Ladon's ticket towards making it to the national team. From that point on, Ladon was able to punch his way in different places and like any other boxer, Ladon experienced ups and downs in his career but perhaps, the biggest win thus far on his career is his gold medal finish in from of the home crowd in last year's SEA Games. Ladon even finished with a silver medal during the 2018 Asian Games despite sustaining a deep cut above his right eye on his way to the men's flyweight division finals. Further back, he served as a replacement for an injured Mark Anthony Barriga during the 2013 Asian Championships. If anything, Ladon's journey has indeed brought him places and has allowed him to expand his horizons.

As the Philippine sports is still recovering from the hit it took from the still ongoing 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Rogen Ladon, despite the insufficiency in training equipment, remains active in training as he said in Filipino, "Once things go back to normal, we need to focus on our sole goal which is to bring honor to the Philippines" 

Photo is from MVPSF