Beijing - It's probably just as well that defending light welterweight champion Manus Boonjumnong intends turning professional after the Olympic Games because the talented Thai boxer certainly seems to need a bigger stage. Manus was already assured of becoming the first Thai athlete in history to win medals at consecutive Games before his semi-final victory Friday against Cuba's Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo. Now he has the chance to leave the amateur ranks behind him on a high.
The 28-year-old outfoxed and outboxed his opponent over the four rounds, winning 10-5 on points, but much of the last minute was punctuated by a chorus of boos from many in the crowd who seemed to take umbrage at Manus' abrasive and sometimes theatrical style.
Manus is no stranger to controversy and making and losing friends, having reportedly blown 600,000-dollars worth of the bonuses he got following his Athens victory on women, gambling and drink, behaviour that eventually led his pregnant wife to leave him.
Missed training sessions followed and it is only because of the support of the President of the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand, Taweep Jantararoj, that Manus managed a comeback.
The boxer first rewarded Jantararoj's faith with gold at the 2006 Asian Games, and following his display against Sotolongo will start favourite to defeat Felix Diaz of the Dominican Republic in Saturday's final at the Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing.
"My body is still in good condition, I have no problems," he said, in reference to fighting on two consecutive days.
Despite, or probably even because of, his chequered past, Manus was able to count on the full support of the small 30- strong Thai section of the crowd, who were already in good cheer following Somjit Jongjohor's win over Italy's Vincenzo Picardi that booked his place in the flyweight final.
Manus eased his way into the fight against 2008 Pan-American champion Sotologo, scoring his first point with a looping right hand and although leading 2-1 on points at the end of the first round felt confident enough to raise both arms almost as a marker for how he intended the rest of the bout to progress.
Both fighters exchanged blows in the second round before a right upper-cut helped extend Manus' lead. He even had time to engage in a spot of showboating before landing another scoring punch just before the bell.
Sotologo received a warning for a clash of heads in the third and Manus continued to provoke with his foot shuffles and weaving, at one stage causing the Cuban to slip to the floor in a vain effort to try and lay a glove on his elusive opponent.
"Clearly it was very ugly behaviour," said Manus, talking about Sotologo's antics rather than his own.
Sotologo scored one more point than Manus in the final round but by this stage the Thai had built up a significant lead and was happy to do only what was necessary to win, remaining oblivious to the booing.
However, Sotologo was less understanding of his opponent's behaviour in the ring.
"He's experienced but not good. He doesn't know anything about fair play. The spectators saw that but not the judges and that's the only thing that matters," said the Cuban.
"He's not an Olympic champion, he doesn't deserve to be."
